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ReGKY 


MOaNTAIN 


o; 21. 


SAM. 



BY 

BURKE BRENTFORD, 

Author of “Florence Falkland,” “Gold-Dust Darrell,” Etc. 


Sea and Shore Series, No. 21. Julj% 1890. Issued Monthly. $3.00 per year. 

Entered at the Post-Office, New York, as Second-Class Matter. 


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ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


I 

BY 



BURKE BRENTFORD, \ . 

V 

A 


AUTHOR OF , . 

“Grold-Diist Darrell,** “iF'lorence Falkland,** JEtc. 


NEW YORK: 

STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 


31 Rose Street. 



SAM THREW OUT THE SAND-BAGS, AND THE BALLOON 
ASCENDED, WITH ITS CHAIN OF INDIANS CLINGING 
TO IT.-(P. 11.) 



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ROOKY MOUNTAIN SAM 


CHAPTER 1. 

THE WIHD-SPECTER. 

As under the empyrean’s spotless blue 

The storm-cloud rushes, black with wind and rain, 

The Indian Specter from the far peaks flew, 

Then swooped upon the plain; 

Of awsome aspect, with distended sides — 

The red man’s terror — on the storm it rides. 

It was a wild and picturesque scene on the waters of the 
Upper Missouri; a wildly magnificent scene, and all bathed 
in the brilliant sunshine of a fresh spring morning; and yet, 
in the midst of all this beauty and grandeur, a fearful trag- 
edy was evidently preparing. 

A group of savages, armed with the various weapons of 
fierce and desperate warfare, and hideous in war-paint; a 
single white man, in a hunteUs garb, hut weaponless and 
bare-headed, and bound securely to a stake, around which 
his barbarous captors were dancing and leaping in fiendish 
glee, brandishing their weapons and giving utterance to 
mocking cries. 

He was a queer-looking fish, the captive youth, and as he 
is destined to be the hero of our story, he will bear a mod- 
erate description. 

He was not more than five feet eight or nine in stature, 
and rather slenderly built, but a closer study of his anatomy 
would have convinced any one there that those classically 


6 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


molded limbs contained nothing but bone and muscle and 
steel-like sinews. The face was comely and beardless, with 
a strong sense of humor and mischievousness, which would 
have rendered it weak, had not the entire countenance been 
redeemed by a pair of gray hawk-eyes, and which indicated a 
daring and enterprising spirit, and he had rich, curling 
brown hair, so soft and silky that the breeze seemed to take 
delight in toying with it. Such the captive; such our hero. 

^^Howl on, ye red-mouthed varmints, till ye crack the 
paint on your ugly mugs!’^ he shouted, laughing; ^‘^ye know 
there^s nothiiT but noise in ye, an^ ye daresent hurt the hair 
of my head. Where is that blue-nosed renegade that speaks 
English? I want to palaver with him.-’^ 

The Indians stopped their dance and din as there strode 
out from among them a thickset, diabolical-looking rascal, 
whom no amount of paint and feathers could rob of the fact 
that he was a white man disguised as an Indian. 

^‘li it’s me you mean, Sam,” said he, suppose I’m at 
yer service fur the bit of time yer has to live.” 

‘^Why, I’ll dance on your grave yet, Rube Tenyck,” said 
the captive; “and, if I haven’t long to live, as you say, why 
don’t you and your murderin’ gang commence on me at once, 
you white-livered son of a prairie dog?” 

“I suppose they’re just playin’ wid ye, as a cat does with 
a mouse before she picks it to pieces,” said the other, with 
a grin. “But you know as well as I do that they are only 
waiting for the arrival of Firefoot, who’s expected every 
minute. But, look ye. Rocky Mountain Sam, an’ it’s 
myself can give ye a piece of advice. When you speak to 
me, keep a snaffle-bit on that sharp tongue o’ yourn, or it 
may go hard with you, my beauty.” 

“If I should tell you the cause of your runnin’ from the 
Mission to disguise your dirty white carcass in Indian war- 
paint, perhaps you would like my tongue still less,” cried 
Rocky Mountain Sam, tauntingly. 

The ruffian gave a sort of roar, drew his knife, and sprang 
toward the bound captive with uplifted hand; but, at this 
moment, Sam, managing to writhe one of his feet free from 
its encircling cords, dealt him such a tremendous kick in 
the pit of the stomach that Rube rolled upon the ground 
completely doubled up and roaring with pain. He was 
quickly on his feet again, and would, perhaps, have re- 
newed the attack with less disaster to himself and more 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


7 


detriment to our hero, had not one of the chiefs seized him 
by the arm, and, pointing away to4he northward, said, in 
broken English: 

‘^Great Medicine Man — he come — lookee — Firefoot!'’' 

All eyes were turned in the direction indicated, whence a 
single horseman was seen careering toward them on a pow- 
erful horse. 

‘^Never mind, my beauty. I'll be even with you yet, or 
my name aiiUt Rube Tenyck!’"' growled the renegade. 

A scornful laugh was the only reply. 

^‘Go, and paint your cheeks a little bluer,” cried Sam. 
^GUll help to hide that mark Big Horn left on you in the 
scrimmage of the Crown Mountain last autumn.” 

The rider, who now spurred in swiftly among them and 
vaulted lightly to the ground, made no pretense of disguis- 
ing his Caucasian race so far as complexion was concerned, 
though his garb was less a hunter^s dress than that of an 
Indian warrior of distinction. He was large and finely 
formed, possessing a countenance which w’ould have been 
noble and prepossessing but for a mixture of cunning in the 
firmly set lips and roving lawlessness in the fierce black eyes, 
which served to render it ignoble and mean. 

A single glance took in the meaning of the whole situa- 
tion, and he waved the horde aside and advanced toward 
the intrepid captive, who eyed him with cool effrontery. 

‘'‘So, Rocky Mountain Sanj, we’ve got you tethered at 
last,” said the chief. 

“They wouldnT have me, though, if they hadnT caught 
me asleep over there on the mountain,” said Sam, with a 
laugh. “I was dead-beat — almost rubbed out from a fight 
I had with a grizzly, and so had to take a bit of Nature^s 
patent hair restorer, you know. But I want to be let out 
of this now, and that quick!” 

“You carry it out bravely for so young a cock; have a 
care.” 

“Look you, Robert Scarlet — ah! start if you will, but I 
know your real name, if no one else does; and I may guess 
the secret of your disguising yourself thus, far from the 
luxurious surroundings among which you were reared — look 
you! bid those Blackfeet villains of yours to release me at 
once, or it will go hard with 3 'Ou!” 

Firefoot — who had started strangely at being addressed 
by the name of ^‘Scarlet” — looked inquiringly at the youth, 


8 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


and then paused a moment wrapped in profound thought. 
He then went closer to the captive, and said, in a low voice: 

^^Sam — Sam Coolcard, you know already the price at 
which I will not only set you at liberty, but reward you 
well/^ 

^"What!^^ cried Sam, indignantly; ‘^^do you dare make 
that proposition again to me? You still think to force me 
into being your ally in luring the Prairie Blossom from her 
father’s home? Out upon you, villain — coward!” 

“Then you die!” 

“You dare not.” 

“Ay, I dare anything. You know the whole Blackfeet 
tribe are at my feet. You know how they hate you more 
than any other American. A word from me, and you will 
be burnt alive where you stand.” 

“I say again, you dare not leave me to their mercies.” 

“Well, wherefore — wherefore? since you carry it so 
bravely.” 

“Because,” and the young man lowered his voice, mean- 
ingly, “because the aged woman whom you have sought so 
long, and with a devotion which would do credit to your 
head and heart anywhere, were you not otherwise so vile, 
lives, and the secret of her whereabouts is locked in the 
breast of Big Horn, who is my friend.” 

A spasm of emotion shook the other’s frame, and for a 
moment he made no reply. 

“My poor mother,” he murmured, in a broken voice. 
“And you will assure me where to find her if I set you 
free?” 

“No; I cannot do that; but I’ll assure you that you never 
will find her unless you set me free.’^ 

“That will not do. Y^'ou know that Big Horn is my im- 
placable foe, even more than yourself.” 

The Indians, who had been impatiently standing apart 
during this interview, now became clamorous for its discon- 
tinuance, and the imperious command of their leader could 
not altogether keep them back. Even as he spoke to them, 
a tomahawk hurtled over his shoulder and buried itself 
just above the captive’s head. 

“They are exasperated even beyond my control,” whis- 
pered Firefoot; “but speak but the word — promise your aid 
in running ofi the Prairie Blossom — and I will save you at 
the risk of my own life. Do you promise?” 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


9 


a thousand times no/^ thundered Eocky Mountain 
Sam; and without another word Firefoot turned on his heel, 
sprang into his saddle and galloped off, leaving Sam to his 
fate. 

‘‘The fagot! the fagot!’’’ roared Eube Tenyck, giving 
the word in the Blackfeet dialect, and dancing in the ex- 
cess of his demoniac glee. “Ah! Sam, my darling, we’ll 
make a roast of you fit for the King of the Cannibals. In 
about 'twenty minutes you’ll be as pretty and brown as a 
baked partridge.” 

The youth made no answer, indeed, hardly seemed to 
hear. His eyes were directed toward the summits of the 
distant mountains with an earnest, anxious gaze. One of 
his arms was partially free. He raised his hand, and shad- 
ing his eyes, renewed his scrutiny of the sky with tenfold 
earnestness. He then wetted his finger with his lips, and 
held it up into the air. The wind blew lightly, but steadily, 
from the West, A smile of satisfaction wreathed his beard- 
less lips. 

A number of the Indians now came up with their arms 
full of small sticks, dried sage-bushes, etc., which they piled 
about the captive, while the others recommenced their in- 
fernal dance around him, with horrid yells and other dem- 
onstrations of savage glee. 

The youth still remained unmoved, almost unconcerned, 
with his eyes fastened upon a dim speck in the western sky, 
which grew every instant larger and larger, like the form of 
a down-swooping bird. 

The hideous preparations were about complete, the death- 
dance was at its height, a sinewy savage was kneeling at the 
foot of the fagot-heap, blowing into flame a glowing, spark 
of fire, which he held on the end of a stick between his hol- 
lowed hands, the spark was just trembling on the blaze, the 
captive seemed irredeemably doomed, when by a single 
motion of his unbound hand, a single word of his lips, he 
spread consternation among his captors. 

He stretched his hand westward, and exclaimed in a 
voice of thunder: 

“Booglebooby!” 

Was the word a magical one? 

The spark fell, flameless and harmless, from the hands of 
the kneeling savage. The death-dance ceased, the hideous 
shouts and yells died away, without au echo. Every eye 


10 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


was turned in the direction indicated by the pointing hand, 
and abject terror and dismay at once took possession of all, 
except the beardless youth at the stake. 

The speck above the mountains had enlarged to a sym- 
metrical sphere, pear-shaped and beautiful, which momently 
swelled in its proportions as it swept onward and downward 
with incredible rapidity. 

To the civilized eye and mind, it was nothing more than 
a balloon; to the vision and conception of the Indian, it 
was the ^^Booglebooby,^^ the terrible Wind-Specter of the 
Blackfeet tribe — a vision which had more than once, ere 
this, appalled them by its phantom-like careerings through - 
the atmosphere. 

‘TIoly smoke! it^s the White Hermit, with his deviPs gas- 
bag!” cried Eube Tenyck, who was quite as ignorant as his 
red comrades of the real nature of the phenomenon, and 
now fell upon his knees in an agony of fear. 

The Indians were affected in different ways, but nearly all 
were too much paralyzed with superstitious terror to think 
of flight. They huddled together in terrifled groups, moan- 
ing, chattering, and sliivering as with the ague; while all 
eyes were directed to the swiftly approaching monster, now 
comparatively near at hand, while the ominous word, 
^‘Boogleboobyl” ‘^Booglebooby!” was constantly repeated by 
terror-shaken lips. 

Over the basket which depended from the neck of the 
balloon, and which had a broad, fan-like apparatus at one 
side, probably intended for steering purposes, was leaning 
the figure of a white-haired, white-bearded old man, clothed 
in white, whose locks streamed in the wind as he wildly 
gazed below. 

As the mighty sphere came surging near the ground, he 
cast out an anchor, which took firm hold of the long grass 
and bushes, and, while the balloon flaunted and eddied to 
and fro and overhead, with a great crackling sound, the 
basket came scraping along the ground, and brought up in 
the very midst of the horrified horde. 

To lean over the edge of the car or basket, knife in hand, 
and sever the captive^s bonds, was the work of but a moment 
with its white-haired occupant. 

^‘Jump in, Sam! Jump in! there^s not a moment to 
lose.” 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


11 


Sam did not wait a second bidding, but clambered into 
the basket in a twinkling. 

‘^Now/^ cried the aeronaut, ‘^dragat that anchor with all 
your might, while I chuck out ballast.^'’ 

Sam quickly obeyed, and presently the anchor tore from 
its fastenings, the mighty balloon shook, and the car began 
to leave the ground. 

At this instant, a brawny Blackfoot sprang to his feet and 
grasped the bottom of the basket with one hand, while with 
the other he reached up at Sam with his hatchet.. 

His added weight was enough to retard the ascent of the 
balloon, and he held on with grim tenacity, though dragged 
hither and thither over the rough ground until the moc- 
casions were torn completely from his feet. 

^‘What! you will, will you?"*^ screamed the White Hermit, 
grasping an iron grappling hook which was attached to the 
car by a short rope. “Sam, chuck out ballast as fast as 
you can; Fll give this chap such a ride in the Booglebooby 
asHl make his hair curl.” 

Sam sprang to his work. The Indian, nearly exhausted, 
was about to release his hoU, but before he could do so the 
old man let down the grapnel and made it fast to the stout 
wampum belt about his waist just' at the small of the back. 

Just then the balloon, relieved of many pounds of ballast, 
shot up in the air like a great bird, and the savage letting 
go his hold was suspended below the car, face downward, 
about six feet from the earth, and to his awe-stricken 
brethren had the appearance of a man swinging upon the 
invisible waves of the atmosphere, as he struck out right 
and left with both hands and feet, yelling at the top of his 
leathern lungs, and probably imploring them to save him in 
piteous accents. 

One of his comrades sprang forward to save him and 
grabbed him by the legs. 

“More ballast out! heave it out!” screamed the old 
aeronaut; and Sam continued to heave out the sand-bags 
as if for dear life. 

The balloon still tugged upward, until two of the Indians 
were swinging clear of the ground, when another sprang 
and caught the ankles of the second, thus making a chain 
of three. 

As the last of these were carried off his feet, still another 
grasped him by the ankles, only to be clutched by still 


12 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


another in his turn, as he, too, was whirled from his foot- 
hold, and so it continued until there was a string of seven 
of them, with the last one just scraping the ground with his 
toes, and all of them clinging to each other like grim death. 

“Heave it out! heave out the sand, or they^’ll have us at 
their mercy cried the aeronaut. 

Under the excitement of the moment, Sam seized a 
huge sack weighing about two hundred pounds, and heaved 
it overboard as easily as a boy^s foot-ball. 

It landed on the top of Eube Tenyck^s head, flattening 
him out, for the time being, like a pancake; and at the 
same time the balloon shot aloft like a meteor. 

The chain of Indians below, as they were carried aloft 
with incredible rapidity, sang out to each other like mon- 
keys in a show, but still hung on with surprising tenacity; 
while their companions below set up a loud lament and 
wrung their hands in impotent rage and bewilderment. 

“By hooky, professor!^'’ said Sam, looking over the car 
when it had attained a height of several thousand feet; 
“they’re still danglin’ on to one another like sassages on a 
string. No! there goes one of them!” he added, as the low- 
ermost savage lessened his grip and plunged head downward 
with an unearthly shriek. 

“Yes, and the others will have to follow suit pretty soon,” 
observed the aeronaut, who was also looking over the side 
with philosophical composure. “There! I told you so!” 

Another yell, and another body falling down. 

They watched the falling bodies, one by one, until they 
became tiny specks and finally struck the earth. 

“They’re goin’ fast,” said Sam, as still another savage lost 
his hold and went rushing down. 

There were now only four left, and Sam observed “that 
that string of sassages” was growing beautifully less, as one 
after one they released their hold and fell, until only one 
remained. 

At last, as the fastening of the grapnel gave way, he, too, 
fell, turning over and over like a cannon ball, and finally 
disappeared in the tree tops of a stunted grove about a mile 
away, where the body was afterward found by his former 
comrades — crushed, mashed, broken and bruised out of all 
semblance of even aboriginal humanity— a hideous pulp 
hanging in and dripping through the trees; a terrible exam^ 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


13 


pie for any of his tribe who might thereafter dream of de- 
fying the wrath of the Booglebooby, or Wind-Specter. 


CHAPTER 11. 

THE WHITE HERMIT. 

These black-scarred crags are the panthers’ homes, 

Where the grizzly, too, in his glory roams. 

And the red deer are thick in the dingles below, 

In the wild brook that brawls in the canons deep, 

The speckled trout and the suntish leap ; 

And up there, by the lone peaks, white with snow, 

The eagle harries rock, chasm, and wood 
For the clamorous maws of her hungry brood. 

The balloon had shot upward with frightful rapidity upon 
being relieved of the Indians’ weight. Slowly the scene 
below grew wider and more chess-board-like and miniature 
in character. Streams became silver threads of gossamer 
fineness, vast forests were irregular plots you cover with the 
palm of your hand, and broad lakes but little wells of 
sparkling water. It was a sublime, never to-be-forgotten 
spectacle, and though Sam had made more than one ascent 
ere this with his eccentric friend, it seemed to him that he 
would never tire in gazing down upon it. The voice of the 
aeronaut aroused him. 

^'Come,'^ said he; 'fit is growing colder every minute, and 
we must mount still higher to catch the western flowing 
current that is to waft me back to my otherwise inaccessible 
home in the mountains. Wrap yourself in some of these 
blankets. Are you not cold 

Sam, who had already felt the change of temperature, 
gladly availed himself of one of the blankets, a number of 
which were gathered in one corner of the car, while the 
aeronaut did likewise. 

He was a remarkable-looking man, was Mad Max, the 
balloonist, as he was known among the few hunters, trap- 
pers and cattle-raisers, who had made their home in that 
part of the territory of Montana— the "White Hermit,'' or 
the "Devil of the Wind-Specter," as the Blackfeet Indians 
described him in their guttural dialect. 

He was very tall and very gaunt, and was clad in garments 


14 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


of remarkably ancient and philosophic cnt^ for that region, 
made of buckskin that had been bleached to a whiteness as 
pure as that of driven snow. He must have been very old. 

Perhaps he carried weapons somewhere concealed in his 
loose outer garment — a very unique affair, which looked 
like an astrologer’s conjuring robe more than anything else; 
but none were visible, and he wore upon his head a comical 
affair, much like an ordinary fooPs cap, or an old-fashioned 
candle-extinguisher. 

^^How did you discover the fix I was in, Max?’^ asked 
Sam. 

^•'By my telescope, my son,^’ was the sage reply. ‘H 
climbed to my observatory this morning to get something 
which I had left there last night during my usual study of 
the stars, and just thought I would take a sweep of the 
world below for diversion. Of my two balloons, this, the 
smaller, in addition to being nearest my most active gas- 
supply, happened to be fully equipped with ballast, steering 
apparatus, meteorological instruments, and other supplies. 
I ran down from the observatory, commenced the inflation 
at once, and being very successful — the gas happening to 
arise through the fissures very strongly at the time — was 
soon in the air, with a fine westerly current. You know 
the rest.^’ 

“Yes; and, by Jove! I thank you from the bottom of my 
heart,^^ cried the young hunter, seizing his hand with glis- 
tening eyes. “You’re a brick! and if you’re ever in a tight 
spot with Injin, or grizzly, or tiger-cat, you know you can 
count on Eocky Mountain Sam.” 

“It grows colder; we must almost have reached the cur- 
rent,” said the aeronaut, rising, and consulting a battered 
barometer and thermometer that dangled above the middle 
of the basket. “Yes,” he added; “barometer 29.485, ther- 
mometer 18 degrees. We have now reached an altitude 
considerably over three miles — nearly a mile higher than the 
summit of Fremont’s Peak, which is 13,570 feet; and in a 
few moments will be in the west-flowing current. My 
son, stand by this throttle-valve while I take the helm.” 

Sam seized the cord indicated, while Max grasped a crank 
connected with the fan-like windmill of a concern dangling 
outside the car, and began to turn it with great rapidity 
toward the right. The fans swiftly revolved, making a 
great whirring sound as they did so, and the air-ship seemed 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


15 


to feel their influence. Presently there was a snapping of 
cloth and cords, the mighty air-bag trembled violently, and 
then plunged off in a slantwise direction so violently as to 
almost upset the cary which, however, almost directly 
righted, and there was a consciousness on the part of the 
balloonists of being carried through the atmosphere at a 
terrific speed. 

^‘'Hooray shouted Max, grasping the rudder in a 
steady position, ‘‘we\e struck the current. Chuck out 
that smallest bag at your feet, Sam. We must get up well 
into it. You see,^’ he explained, more calmly, “in rising to 
take advantage of this glorious current we must have 
drifted nearly a hundred miles to the eastward. We have 
to double back on that as well as make the original distance 
traversed by me in coming to your assistance. But weh’e 
making fully ninety miles an hour. Ha! there is Fort Ben- 
ton, just below us; but weh’e rapidly dropping it away from 
us,’-’ cried Max, giving the crank a whirl and shouting with 
a sort of strange, demoniac glee, that was utterly devoid of 
mirth. “Hooray! this is the way I felt when I crossed the 
Atlantic from Havre to Eio Janiero in 1800. This is what 
I experienced when I explored the mysteries of the Antar- 
tic Ocean two years later, when I crossed the icy barriers to 
the warm sea beyond, where the waters become so hot that 
all the whales are boiled as red as lobsters, where at last the 
sea goes plunging into the great crater at the pole, and is 
lost in the fiery bowels of the earth. Hooray, hooray! this 
is life, this is the philosopher’s paradise.” 

Sam had seen him in these delirious ecstasies before, and 
had always found them harmless; still it was not very sooth- 
ing to his finer feelings to be entirely unarmed, alone with 
even a wild-mannered lunatic, sixteen thousand feet above 
terra firma. 

But these enthusiastic “spells” of the old gentleman ap- 
peared to be of as brief duration as they were harmless. He 
soon quieted down, came out of his dream, with a jerk, as 
it were, and began to talk as rationally as at the outset. 

“We’re making splendid time, Sam,” said he, his eyes 
still snapping with the excitement under which he had been 
laboring. “There’s Crown Butte away off to the right, and 
Cadoutt’s Pass almost under us; and 1 think I see Silver 
City to the southward there, say fifty miles away. In half 
an hour we’ll be over the Eockies, prepared to settle down 


16 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


into the soft east-flowing air that will take US right to my 
place. Old Minnetrapa and her daughter will have a capi- 
tal set-out for us, depend upon it. Hungry, Sam?^' 

little peckish, that^s all; I simply feel as if I could 
get away with the side of a buffalo without picking my 
teeth,” said Sam, cheerfully returning to subjects of such 
mundane significance. ‘‘By the way, how is my little 
Fayaway, Max?” 

^^Your Fayaway, you rascal! ThaFs pretty cool for even 
you, Sam. Well, slie^s well enough, part of the time help- 
ing her mother about the cabin, and, the rest of the time, 
out in the canons, heaven knows where.” 

^‘Minnetrapa ain’t her mother,” said Sam, a little resent- 
fully. “Nor she ain’t no Blackfoot either. Her father was 
chief of the Shoshones, and they are gentlemen and Chris- 
tians compared with these blood-thirsty varmints.” 

“Well, she calls her mother, which is all the same thing. 
Her governor may have been a King of Jehoshaphat, for all 
I know or care. A little south of west now, and we’re all as 
right as a trivet.” And first consulting a compass which he 
had among other traps at the bottom of the car, he gave 
the crank a dozen or more whirls, which made the wings 
outside whirl like a flock of pigeons. “Hooray! now I feei 
as I felt when I swept over the unexplored regions of Africa, 
and was the first white man who ever gazed upon the source 
of the Nile! Gad! but the elephants were thick up there. 
You couldn’t see the ground for ’em — thicker’n buffalo a 
darned sight. And then the lions, plentier’n cats on a 
woodshed; and the rhinoceroses and the niggers with long 
tails like monkeys. Oh, it was glorious. Fm the greatest 
man that ever lived.” 

Sam waited until this second fit of inspired idiocy sub- 
sided, and then quietly asked: 

“How’s Big Horn? Seen him lately?” 

“No, but he’ll be in the canon some time to-day. Now, 
Sam, pull the throttle-valve gently.” 

Sam did as he was directed, and they began to descend 
quite rapidly, the earth having the appearance of rising up 
toward them, as is always the case. 

“Easy, there, easy, or we shall be a-foul of some of these 
peaks,” cried the aeronaut. “We're ten miles beyond the 
Hermitage, and must drift slowly till we’re just above it. 
then wefil settle down between the ridges^ where there ain't 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


17 


a breath of air stirring, and land just in the right place. 
Easy there. Throw out that other sand-bag, Sam, or we’ll 
scrape them pinetops.” 

Sam obeyed orders, and, indeed, their situation seemed 
critical enough as they went sweeping slowly on, now high 
over a canon or valley again, nestling deep down at the 
feet of inaccessible ridges, now all but dashing their frail 
car against some bold old monarch of the Sierras, white with 
snows that have not melted from its brow for countless ages, 
and then again almost plunging into the tossing, storm- 
scarred trees that fringed the verge of some precipice of un- 
known depths; it was, indeed, a wild, an awful voyage. 

Once, as they were approaching the crest of a lofty ridge, 
Sam, who was looking forward a little more keenly than his 
comrade, directed his attention to an enormous grizzly bear 
that was seated upon his haunches on the apex of a lesser 
cone, right in their path, and apparently eying their in- 
trusion upon his domain with an air of indignant protest. 

‘‘Shall we hook him with the grapnels, for a joke, pro- 
fessor?” cried Sam. 

“Ay, ay!” was the reply; “you drop that one with the 
long rope, and I’ll fly for him with the anchor.” 

No sooner said than done. As the basket swung slowly 
over the bear’s head, about fifteen or twenty feet from the 
ground, Sam dropped the grapnel and dextrously hooked 
him under the lower jaw, half lifting liim from his feet, but 
at the same time bringing the balloon to a stand-still. 
Almost simultaneously the sharp-fluked anchor, which Max 
had lowered, took firm hold of one of the bear’s haunches, 
tripping him up, rolling him over, and causing him to roar 
and bellow with rage and pain. 

Thus the balloon was securely anchored to a bear, and kept 
surging and flapping around about twenty feet from the 
ground, to the considerable discomfort of the occupants of ' 
the car, and no doubt to the consternation and bewilder- 
ment of bruin. 

“Hurrah!” cried Sam, whose hunter’s blood was up. 
“Loan me your revolver, professor, till I give him a crack.” 

Mad Max handed him a six-shooter, which he drew from 
somewhere in his voluminous robe. Sam leaned over the 
car, and began banging away, putting ball after 
ball into the carcass of the bear, who bellowed with rage. At 
last, however, his natural sagacity to his ai;dj and 


18 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


managing to retain his seat on his haunches, he seized the 
line of the grapnel-iron with his mighty paws, and began to 
drag the car toward him, hand over hand. 

‘^^Out with the ballast, Sam, or he’ll have us in his grip!” 
screamed the professor, himself setting the example. 

Sam was not tardy in doing likewise, and as with added 
buoyancy the balloon struggled aloft, the bear reluctantly 
let go his hold, paw by paw', and would doubtless at last 
have gladly let go altogether, only the grapnel remained 
where it had been all along, fast hooked in his lower jaw. 
He tried to pull back, but the balloon tugged away at him, 
forcing him along, step by step, while the anchor, giving 
way in its hold upon his hind quarters, was drawn in. 

‘ 'Hurrah! well walk him right down into your corrals 
with us, professor,” cried Sam. "Let's heave out this other 
big sand-bag, and see if we can’t hurry the critter into a 
trot.” 

He suited the action to the word; the balloon strained 
ahead, and the bear was led at a lively pace over the rough 
ridge, making numerous ineffectual efforts to halt in his 
compulsory career. At last they reached the extremity of 
the ridge, which terminated in a stupendous precipice, hav- 
ing a sheer descent of several thousand feet. 

The bear made one last desperate struggle on the brink, 
and, for one instant, maintained himself there. The next 
he swung entirely free from the crag. It was a fortunate 
thing for those in the balloon that the grapnel at this 
moment gave way, or the great weight of the animal might 
have drawn them into the chasm with fatal violence; but as 
it was, the iron tore out the flesh, and poor bruin was sent 
thundering down into the depths alone, while the balloon, 
suddenly released from let or hindrance, shot straight up 
like a rocket. 

"Eather cruel sport for white men,” commented the 
aeronaut, dryly; "but yonder’s the place, and we might as 
well prepare to land.” 

The scene below them, and which they were about to 
descend, was a remarkable one. Though apparently shut on 
every side by inaccessible mountains, it was still more of an 
irregular valley than a canon, for it was fully half a mile 
in breadth. One extremity was blooming and fertile, with 
a comfortable-looking cabin standing upon a knoll beside 
a flashing stream, and surrounded by two or three rough 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


19 


out-buildings and corrals, indicating a ranch or farm of 
some pretensions, with a few sheep and cattle to be seen 
grazing upon meadowy reaches and verdant slopes. The 
other end presented a strange contrast. Noxious vapors and 
gases, whose smell already made Kocky Mountain Sam 
begin to cough and sneeze, seenied to exhale from it in 
many places and in continuous streams; while, looking over 
the side of the balloon-car one could plainly distinguish a 
mud-volcano in active operation, its turbid fountain — prob- 
ably two hundred feet in height — showing itself distinctly 
thi-ough the thick haze with which the vapors constantly 
vailed the sunlight, elsewhere serene. 

^Tjet us get down at once, then,^^ said Sam, ^^and get 
out of the smell of this devihs smoke-pit. 

‘^Devil’s smoke-pit!” repeated Max, indignantly. “It is 
the realm of philosophy, the kingdom of the aeronaut of the 
future (myself), who here, with the forces of nature at his 
command, shall yet circumnavigate round and round this’ 
green earth at his will, upon the waves of air. What need 
to render gas from coal with so much labor and expensive 
machinery, when here from nature^s retorts in the bowels 
of the earth we can find the pure article already manufac- 
tured. Pull a little harder upon the throttle, Sam. Easy, 
now, easy, while I cast anchor.” 

The balloon had fluttered gently down upon a sort of 
barren track, which may be called a debatable ground 
between the two extremities of the valley — the fertile and 
the volcanic — and was speedily made fast. The aeronauts 
landed, and, in a few minutes, the vast gas-bag, which but 
a moment before had been distended so roundly and stiffly, 
was flattened out upon the surface of the ground, an inert, 
lifeless, and shapeless mass. 

“Help me to put her under yon shed, Sam, to keep her 
from the weather,” said Max, “and then wedl to breakfast.” 

Sam tugged away with a will, and pretty soon the balloon 
was securely housed under a low-built, spacious shed, under 
which another mass of cloth and netting— the professor's 
“big balloon,” in the possession of which he was very vain 
— was suspended from rafters, like the festoonings of half- 
furled canvas on board a ship. 

As they came out of the shed a bright young Indian girl, 
very prettily and picturesquely attired, ran down the steep 
pathway leading from the cabin to meet them. 


20 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


^‘What, Fayaway! my little fawnfoot!^'’ cried Sam, hold- 
ing out his arms, into whose embrace the savage maiden 
sprang without the least hesitation or coyness. 

The next moment her dark, blushing face was reaching 
up to his, and her full, ripe lips were pouted for the antici- 
pated kiss. 


CHAPTER III. 

BIG HOEN. 

A merry life is tlie hunter’s bold, 

Little for danger careth he; 

He lonely roves field, forest, and wold, 

And his roof is the bough of the greenwood tree. 

With an eye like a hawk’s, and the hand like the grip 
Of a grizzly’s paw in an angry mood, 

He still hath a welcome ever on lip 
For a friend indeed, or a comrade good. 

When they reached the interior of the cabin, in which an 
old squaw was bustling about with a vast amount of self- 
importance in her wrinkled and grizzled mien, the sight 
that met their gaze was a cheering one for hungry men — a 
rough table heaped with fresh roasted venison and bear 
meat, the odor of which was savory and delicious beyond 
expression, together with a pan filled with smoking baked 
potatoes. 

put "’em on fire-coals soon as I see Booglebooby sailin' 
over cliff-rocks,’' explained the old squaw, in quite as good 
and grammatical English as most of her pale-faced superiors 
could boast of in that region. 

‘^Good enough, Minnetrapa," said the White Hermit, 
divesting himself of his astrologer’s hat and cloak. “Sam, 
are you hungry?" 

“Oh, no— only starved!" said Sam, drawing up a three- 
legged stool to the table without being asked or waiting for 
any one else, and diving into a venison steak like a famished 
wolf. 

Professor Max soon joined him company, though with 
much sparer appetite, the old woman Availing upon him 
with considerable ceremony, while the young girl sat close 
to Sam, every now and then reaching over with an old- 
fashioned, broken-handled, two-tined carving-fork, and 
supplying his tin plate with meat or potato, as, one after 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


21 


another, the rude but wholesome viands disappeared before 
his voracious appetite. 

At last, however, when the sharp edge of it was pretty 
well worn off, he found plenty of time to return the smiling 
glances cast at him by the dark eyes at his side, and to 
pour into willing ears the story of his adventures since he 
had last seen her. 

‘^By the way,^^ said he, at last, when story-telling and 
love-making had become a trifle monotonous, ^^have you 
heard any news from Ohapman^s Eanch lately, Fayaway 

^^Me there two — three days ^go/^ said Fayaway, holding 
up first two and then three fingers. 

‘‘How are they?"' 

“Good — much good!"" 

“And Miss Chapman — Prairie Blossom?'" 

“Good and pretty. Oh, much pretty!'" 

“Every one knows that; but how do things stand? Has 
Firefoot been troubling her again?"" 

“Yes; once he come, and big Colonel Chapmanie say, go 
way, or hang on tree-top! Firefootie much mad — he go 
way — say, ‘revenge me yet some more, ,by G — !""" 

“Ha! ha!"" laughed Sam; “you’re getting along with the 
white man"s lingo first-rate. Fay a way. ‘Revenge me yet 
some more, by G — !" is pretty good, though I say it as 
oughtn"t to. Is there any more water in that jug?"" 

“Ho, Fayaway fetch freshie from brookie."" And snatch- 
ing up a tin cup, the little beauty darted out of the open 
door like an arrow. 

“You know there"s something stronger to be had for the 
asking, Sam,"" said the Hermit, producing a stone bottle, 
from which he proceeded to pour himself out a draught. 

“No, thanks!'" said the young hunter; “I have seen 
enough of the horrible effects of such poison upon my poor 
friend Big Horn to risk becoming a slave to it myself. Ah! 
here comes the only beverage Heaven intended us to drink, 
I fancy/" he added, as Fayaway came tripping in with a 
cupful of the ice-cold water from the near gushing torrent, 
which he drained with a keen relish. 

“Now, sit here on my knee and tell me everything that 
has happened since I was here, my little Bright Eyes,"" said 
Sam, who had a good deal of poetry in his composition for 
one who had had such wild, rough breeding, and but little 
education. 


22 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


The Indian maiden took her seat upon his lap with a girl- 
ish trust and fearlessness which showed not only her unsel- 
fish love for the young man, but also the utter purity of the 
relations existing between them. 

She was a very charming child of nature, with all its 
unaffected artlessness and simplicity. She could not have 
been over sixteen, and was even small for her age, while 
her slender, sylph-like form was picturesquely attired in 
a simple close-fitting frock of bleached buckskin, whose 
beaded red-fringed skirt reached just below the knee, re- 
vealing the shapely limbs and ankles beneath, also warmly 
clad in tight-fitting highly-ornamented stockings of the 
same material, and the tiniest, prettiest feet that ever 
sheathed themselves in downy moccasins. She wore broad 
heavy bracelets of gold upon the wrists and above the elbows, 
after the manner of the Southern tribe from which she was 
sprung; half a dozen glass bead necklaces were hung about 
her neck and festooned upon her breast, rattling and jin- 
gling merrily as she moved. She had jet-black luxuriant 
hair; eyes large, dark, and lustrous as a gazelle’s; a face more 
than comely; and her frequent smile revealed rows of teeth, 
each one of which seemed a perfect pearl. 

Such was Fayaway, who is destined to play a not unim- 
portant part in our eventful story. 

^T, for my part,’’ said the professor, taking down a pipe 
and lighting it, ^^shall go up to my observatory and take 
another sweep of the plains.” 

But this moment Minnetrapa, who had gone outside upon 
some errand, re-entered the cabin in considerable excite- 
ment. 

‘‘Great white chief. Big Horn; he come,” she said. 

Max went at once to the door, and looked out. 

“Yes,” he exclaimed, shading his eyes with his hand, “it 
is he. He is just out of the pass, and coming straight to 
the house. Looks as if he were pretty well beat, too.” 

They waited patiently, and pretty soon the heavy tramp 
of some one approaching was heard. The next moment a 
mighty hunter darkened the door, entered, and seated him- 
self at the table, with a surly nod of recognition and nothing 
more. He looked at Kocky Mountain Sam, nodded again, 
and then cast a glance of meaning inquiry at the proprietor 
of the cabin himself. 

Max, without a word, opened a little cupboard to which 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


23 


he had returned the stone bottle after drinking from it, re- 
produced it, and set it, together with a tin cup, before the 
unbidden guest. 

The latter poured out an unconscionable dram, drained 
it almost without taking breath; and tfien, seizing a tin 
platter and rude fork with his left hand, and drawing his 
, bowie-knife with his right, he set to work at the viands be- 
fore him with an appetite that more than equaled our 
hero’s, though he had had no balloon-voyage to whet it. ' 

They were evidently well used to his ways, for after notic- 
ing his first entrance, Sam went on chatting to his sweet- 
heart as though nothing had interrupted him; the White 
Hermit stood at the door smoking unconcernedly, and look- 
ing out over the peaceful valley; and the ancient squaw 
resumed her kitchen duties, as though oblivious of the 
presence of any one at all. 

Big Horn was one of the most noted hunters, trappers, and 
Indian fighters in the Territory of Montana. He had been 
among the mountains in the neighborhood of Tort Benton 
and the headwaters of the Missouri River for years, took his 
name from the noted branch of the Yellowstone of the same 
name, was familiar with almost every Indian dialect in the 
region, and was considered unequaled as hunter, scout, or 
fighter, though often dreaded by white almost as much as 
by red men, from a certain moroseness of disposition, which 
had gained for him an unenviable reputation for ferocity 
and coarse brutality, which, perhaps, he did not deserve. 

He was not a tall man for that country of superlatively 
big men, perhaps five feet nine or ten, but his frame was of 
Herculean proportions, with a depth of chest and breadth of 
shoulders so vast as to amount almost to a deformity. His 
face — heavy, stolid-featured, with short, stubby nose, and 
large, heavy jaws and lips, and a thin, straggling beard — at 
the first glance gave one the impression of coarse, ugly 
stupidity, and nothing more; but a more careful study, 
especially, if the full, piercing gray eyes were turned sud- 
denly upon you, revealed a latent force and alertness, not 
unmixed with kindness, which surprised you. His hunter’s 
garb was tattered, dirty, and dusty, as by long travel. He 
held his rifle between his knees as he ate; and the belt that 
bound his burly waist was garnished with a formidable array 
of pistols, knives, and other accouterments. 

Having finished a meal which would have laid more 


24 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


than three men under the charge of gluttony, and taken 
another gigantic pull from the stone bottle. Big Horn turned 
leisurely around in his seat, stood his gun up against the wall 
near which he was sitting, and abruptly thrusting out his 
paw to Sam, said: 

^‘Put it there, pard.” 

Sam at once set Payaway to one side, and ^^put it there;’^ 
that is he laid his hand in that of Big Horn, and gave him 
the greetings of the day. 

The professor did likewise, upon being likewise requested 
to ^^put it there, and, in a few words, gave the hunter an 
account of the day’s adventures. 

Big Horn listened attentively, but made no further com- 
ment than an occasional nod, and now and then an approv- 
ing nod at Sam. 

^ ^Them’s gas-bags — isn’t they, perfesser?” said he, at 
length; and then added, after a moment’s pause, ^T’ve 
been to the Fort.” 

^‘Fort Benton?” queried the Hermit. 

The hunter nodded, aiid proceeded to fill a short, black 
pipe, which he drew, with a pouch of tobacco, from his 
breast. 

‘‘Also been to Silver City,” he resumed. “Groin’ to be 
a row; Injins showin’ their teeth; miners packin’ up their 
kits and gittin’.” 

“Have you had a tussel yourself with the reds. Big Horn ?”^ 
asked Sam. 

“You bet.” 

Several hard puffs at the short pipe, and then the surly 
hunter delivered himself as follows, in a quick, jerky, 
desultory way that was probably more satisfactory to him- 
self than any one else: 

“At the Fort day afore yisterday; Injins — Blackfeet — in 
growlin’ ’bont delay in annuities; commandant short and 
sharp with ’em; fight under barracks wall durin’ night; 
sodger killed an Injun, Injun scooped a sodger; merry time 
all ’round; drums beat to quarters, Injuns made tracks, 
swearin’ to git even; bound to be trouble, mark my words. 
Gin’ral guv me commission fur to scout the hull country, 
see how the varmints tuk things. Started down the Wala- 
Wala trail at sunrise; hoss shot under me at lower ford of 
the Big Medicine; fit fur two hours in the chaparral, ’n killed 
three bucks, "sides stealiu" a pony. All right till I got to 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


25 


Beaver Creek; Injuns swarmin^ all along the road like 
maggots in a cheese; at Beaver had to cut an^ run; twenty 
after me, ^n Firefoot in their lead; lost pony agin ^n tuk to 
the brush. Got to Silver City; miners all skeered packin’ 
up traps; Colonel Chapman fortifyin’ an’ drillin’ his men 
fur a brush; swears he’ll never run; he’s a brick; wouldn’t 
wait fur a mount, but struck out on shanks; here I am. 
Put it thar, pard,” again thrusting out his hand to Sam; 
^‘^putit thar, I say, fur I’ve come fur you.” 

“For me?” said Sam, in surprise. 

“Sartain, pard.” 

Big Horn explained at length why it was necessary that 
he should have Sam’s assistance in his proposed scouting 
expedition among the Blackfeet. Sam had been his pupu 
in the earlier part of his career, and was considered the only 
man whom Big Horn had any real affection for, and they 
had been comrades upon many a desperate hunt and chase. 

“All right,” said Sam, quietly; “but you know from 
what I’ve already told you that I’m bunged up and need rest.” 

“By crimminy!” an’ don’t this rooster want it ’bout ’s 
much as yourself? We’ll roost here till to-morror, an’ then 
make a bee line through the Blackfeet country to my cabin 
on Grizzly Bear Lake. Perfessor, you must hev yer gas- 
bags ready, old buck.” 

“During your entire journey I shall be hovering over 
your heads. I shall gather ye even as a hen does her little 
chickens under her wings,” said the mad aeronaut, with 
philosophical calmness. “In the meantime both of you 
know where to turn in for a snooze. I’m going down 
here to look at my gas works. Come with me, Fayaway, I 
may want you to help a bit.” 

So while Sam and Big Horn went to another apartment 
of the cabin to sleep off their heavy fatigue, the White 
Hermit set out down the valley, accompanied by the little 
Indian maiden. 

They soon crossed the barren, debatable ground, and came 
upon the edge of the volcanic region, in the center of 
which the great geyser, or mud volcano, frothed, and hissed, 
and fumed, and spouted up its tremendous column of mud 
and water, with occasionally huge rocks as big as a hogs- 
head, to the height of two hundred and fifty feet, while 
from countless narrow fissures in the hard baked ground 


‘26 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


issued incessant streams of sulphurous and other gases, 
whose odor was far from pleasant. 

These were the gigantic retorts and laboratories of nature, 
and it .was easy to see that the ^^perfesser"” had an unlimited 
supply of gas to inflate all the balloons he might ever pos- 
sess. All he had to do was to place a funnel-mouthed tube 
connected with the neck of the balloon over one of the 
smoking holes, and the gas-bag would be filled in a few 
moments. 

“All is well, my dear,” said he, rubbing his hands, “the 
gas-works are in fine operation. I think at any moment I 
could get ready and make a start with twenty minutes’ 
notice. We will now go to the shed and ballast the car of 
the big balloon. I wonder where Teddy is; your hands are 
too dainty to handle sand-bags. Ah, there he is coming out 
of the shed,” he continued, as his single assistant, a broad- 
shouldered, uncouth-looking Irishman made his appear- 
ance. “Teddy, we must load up for the big sphere and 
have the pony and wagon ready to run her over to the gas- 
works at a moment’s notice.” 

At daybreak on the following day, after a hasty breakfast, 
Big Horn and Sam, accompanied by little Fayaway, who 
was determined to visit her patroness at the Chapman 
Eanch, set out upon their journey, each mounted upon a 
wiry pony supplied from the White Hermit’s herd. 

The canon was accessible from the outer world to ordi- 
nary travelers by a narrow and difficult pass, known to but 
few, and made pretty secure against Indian intrusion by 
their superstitions concerning the Booglebooby. 

The day was brightening, and just as they were entering 
this pass, little Fayaway pointed up into the sky. 

“White Hermit!” she ejaculated. 

“By hookey!” cried Sam; “the old fellow is in the clouds 
bright and early. Look, Big Horn!” 

The elder hunter only glanced once at the balloon, which 
was already a mere speck above their heads, and then pushed 

on, making his usual surly comment about “them ’ere 

gas-bags.” 


ROCKY MOUNTMN SAM. 


27 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE BALLOOK AGAIH TO THE RESCUE. 

Come to the land of wonders — 

Come to the border-land! 

There is little worth on the round, green earth 
That is not in the border-land. 

The rifle, the knife, and the hatchet 
Are the hunter’s passports free. 

Where the red man hides and the wild beast bides 
In the shadow of rock and tree. 

Oh, there’s nothing on earth that’s half so grand 
As life and death in the border-land. 

The distance from the pass in the canon of the White 
Hermit to Ohapman^s Ranch was something like thirty-five 
miles, and the sun was at its meridian. in the heavens when 
our two hunters, with their charge, began to near it upon 
their tired ponies. 

They had not proceeded far before they began to be aware 
of something wrong. Some cattle and horses, with the 
coloneFs brand upon their flanks, dashed across the trail as 
if frightened or pursued, and pretty soon the reports of dis- 
tant rifles came to their ears. 

"TPs a row!'^ said Big Horn, abruptly. ‘"Best tuk to kiver 
an’ wait.” 

He led the way from the trail, and they were speedily en- 
sconced among some sparse-growing, stunted trees and frag- 
ments of rock, where, dismounting and grasping their 
ponies’ bridles, they waited in considerable suspense. 

""Get a leetle farther back, Fayaway,” whispered Sam, 
kissing the maiden and pushing her a little farther into the 
cover. 

"‘This comes o’ bringin' the gal along,” growled Big 
Horn, sulkily. 

""I don’t see as how she’s in the way,” said Sam, a little 
angrily. 

But at this moment the clatter of approaching hoofs put 
a stop to further discussion, and the next instant about a 


28 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


dozen painted braves dashed by on their ponies, whoopin^s^, 
yelling, and swinging their weapons, and driving a small 
herd of cattle and oxen before them. 

“It is only a cattle raid, or d'ye reckon they've attacked 
the ranch?" asked Sam. 

“Ef the gal warn't along we mought ride for’ards and see 
fur ourselves," replied Big Horn, still more sullenly. 

“The gal ain't afeard to go with us," said Sam. “You 
can take care of yourself, can't you, Faya way?" he added, 
turning to the girl, who appeared entirely insensible to fear. 

“You bet!" said Fayaway, using one of the slang phrases 
which she had most readily picked up. 

“Come on, then," said Big Horn, and spurring out, with 
the Indian maiden in their rear, the hunters advanced at a 
trot along the narrow trail, with their weapons ready for 
use. 

The shots grew nearer and more incessant as they rode, 
and presently, as they came out from the rocky region upon 
a little eminence overlooking the comparatively unbroken 
plain, in the midst of which Colonel Chapman's ranch, with 
its outlying corrals, was sTuated, they saw a desultory fight 
in progress — the ranchmen being gathered out in a hollow 
square, while the Indians, in considerable force, were 
wheeling around them upon their fleet ponies, but not ven- 
turing within very close range. There also seemed to be a 
party in the interior of the adobe walls surrounding the 
farm-house, making every preparation for withstanding a 
siege, should it become necessary. 

“Hurrah!'’ cried Sam — forgetting for the moment all 
about Fayaway, who, however, appeared in no wise alarmed; 
“this is glorious. Big Horn! We are in for a fight." 

“Fm thar!" was the laconic reply; and the next moment 
the gallant hunters were dashing over the plain — Fayaway 
still bringing up the rear, with her long, dark tresses 
streaming out on the wind. 

The Indians saw them coming when they were something 
less than a mile away, and sent out a detachment of six or 
seven braves to intercept them. Without checking his pony 
in the least; Rocky Mountain Sam — who, with the single 
exception of Big Horn, was the best shot in the territory — ^ 
drew his rifle to his shoulder at preposterously long range 
and blazed away, and the foremost savage threw up his 
hands and plunged head-foremost from the saddle. 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


29 


The report of Big Horn’s rifle followed almost like an 
echo, and another redskin bit the dust. 

But in a moment they were in much closer quarters, and 
the Indians were firing at them with their bows and arrows 
from under their ponies’ necks, hardly exposing more than 
a single leg at the same time. 

Half a dozen arrows flew around them, and a cry from 
Fay away caused Sam to turn just as her pony sank to his 
knees, pierced through and through by a cloth-yard shaft. 

To turn, give her his hand, and drag her before him on 
his own steed, was but the work of a moment; and then, 
with his left hand clutching her to his breast, and a revol- 
ver in his right, he faced the foe once more, bringing down 
another copper-hued warrior, horse and rider, by a well- 
directed shot. 

But Big Horn, seeing the disadvantage under which his 
friend was laboring, with his double-loaded pony, had sprung 
from his saddle, and hamstrung the pony of a near-career- 
ing Indian, and brought down another by a shot from his 
revolver. There was only one Indian remaining, and he, 
doubtless appalled at the fate that had so swiftly overtaken 
his comrades, delivered a random arrow which just grazed 
Big Horn’s cheek, and, putting spurs to his steed, galloped 
back to the main body of the savages at the top of his 
speed. 

Big Horn remounted, and quickly secured one of the 
riderless ponies. 

^‘Put the leetle gal on this,” said he, in a tone which im- 
plied that he was not so much predisposed against ‘^fleetle 
gals” as he pretended to be. ^^She’s a little brick ef she is 
an Injun.” 

Sam made haste to do as he was told, and the party again 
galloped toward the ranch, there being no further attempt 
made to intercept them. 

- Colonel Chapman, a hale and hearty gentleman of about 
fifty, rode out to meet them from among the group of de- 
fenders, consisting of ranchmen, herders, hunters and a 
few miners from the Silver City mines. 

^‘Welcome, welcome! You’re just in time, and noto my 
apprehensions are at an end, at aiiy rate,” said he, heartily. 
^‘Sam, hadn’t Fayaway better go inside. The Prairie Blos- 
som is there, my dear, and anxious to see you.” 


30 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Fayaway sprang from her pony, and, without a word, 
tripped into the inclosure as light-footed as a fawn. 

Miss Chapman was waiting to receive her, and immedi- 
ately clasped her in her arms, much to the gratification of 
the Indian maiden, who apparently looked upon the young 
lady as a sort of goddess in disguise. 

A very beautiful and charming disguise it was most cer- 
tainly, even for a goddess. 

Miss Mollie Chapman — better known among the military 
officers, soldiers, and frontiersmen, among whom she had 
passed the greater portion of her young life, as the Prairie 
Blossom — was a tall, graceful blonde, with handsome fea- 
tures, delicate complexion, and golden hair, and a very lively 
and kindly expression of countenance. 

There was another lady in the room in which Fayaway 
had entered. This was Miss Yearning, sister-in-law of the 
colonel, and Mollie ChapmaiFs aunt, a tall, very handsome, 
and very sentimental looking lady, still on the right side of 
forty, who had resided with her brother-in-law for a number 
of years, and who seemed now to by no means approve of 
the affectionate familiarity with which her neice greeted her 
little friend. 

^‘^Dolet that little heathen alone, Mollie!'^ said she, in a 
tone of high reproof. ^‘^Remember your birth and position, 
if you forget everything else.^^ 

‘‘What is the cause of your unreasoning detestation of 
my ^ooyIiHIq protegee, auntie? Be careful, or you will make 
me suspect something. 

“What would you dare suspect concerning me, you silly 
child 

“Oh, I don’t know as I suspect anything,” said the 
young girl, laughing; “but others might fancy that your 
dislike of Fayaway sprung from your knowing that she is 
Sam Coolcard’s sweetheart.” 

“Out upon you for your impudence! Ridiculous! Who 
ever heard of such a thing?” exclaimed Miss Yearning, a 
bright blush nevertheless suffusing her handsome face. 
“Beside, I don’t believe that Rocky Mountain Sam really 
' cares a snap for the little chit. You had better attend to 
your own affair with your Lieutenant Dutton, and leave 
other people to attend to theirs.” 

It was now Prairie Blossom’s turn to blush, which she did 
right royally. 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


31 


^‘Poor Charlie!” she murmured. ^‘To think of his com- 
ing away out here on a mere pleasure trip, or for my sake, 
which is all the same thing, and now to be exposed to such 
danger. Dear me, the firing is going on again.” 

“I go see what matter be for Prairie Blossom,” said Fay- 
away, who had listened to the conversation, so far as herself 
was concerned, with an amused smile, and now ran out of 
the door into the corral. 

^‘No,” she retorted, quickly returning, ^ ‘Injun make 
much talkee, but no fightee, not now; very soon.” 

‘‘Well, we might as well be out of reach of the bullets as 
much as possible,” said Miss Yearning, closing and bolting 
the door. 

“For my part,” said Mollie, “I shall run up in the loft 
and look over the wall. Come, Fayaway.” 

“And, for my part, I shall remain just here,” said Miss 
Yearning, sinking into a seat and pressing her hand to her 
heart; for the worthy spinster experienced more trepidation 
than she was willing to betray in the presence of her lively 
niece. 

In the meantime. Rocky Mountain Sam and Big Horn 
had joined the group of defenders — some thirty or forty in 
all — on the outside of the walls. 

“How did the row start, kernel?” asked Big Horn. 

“Why, they^ve had it in for me, I don^t doubt, for a 
month or more. The whole Blackfeet nation appears to be 
on the war-path,” said Colonel Chapman, with a round oath. 
“This morning a party of rascals came here and wanted me 
to give them a dozen fat steers for as many broken-down, 
spavined, ram-shackled ponies that werenT worth anything 
but to feed to the crows. Of course, I told Ym I’d see ’em 

in first. Then they wanted to trade for whisky, which 

they know well enough the Government does not permit me 
to sell them; and, on failing in this, pne of ’em picked up a 
row and drew his scalping knife on one of my teamsters, 
when I at once shot him through the head. That is the 
origin of the whole difficulty, though, of course they had it 
all cut and dried for me beforehand, and if it hadn't been 
that, it would have been something else. Ho sooner had 
the row commenced than the red vermin began to swarm in 
from all quarters. They haven't done much mischief yet; 
most of the shots you have heard have been fired into the 
air; you and Sam here have spilt pretty much all the blood 


32 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


that has been spilt; but their fighting fury has been fairly 
aroused, and I can’t guess how it will end. I wish to Heaven 
a detachment would come down from Fort Benton! Do 
you think there’s any likelihood of it?” 

^^Not fur this day, kernel,” said Big Horn; who then gave 
a brief account of his visit to the Fort, and of the scouting 
commission he had received from the commandant. 

‘^What! you and Sam are going to cut north, then? But 
you won’t go to day, I trust .f'” 

‘‘Not while you’re in this muddle, if we know ourselves, 
colonel,” cried Eocky Mountain Sam. “But here comes 
one of their bucks to palaver with you. Lucky for you that 
Big Horn’s here. He can act as interpreter, you know.” 

Big Horn exchanged some words with an Indian who now 
cantered up to their line, and then turned to the colonel 
and coolly said: 

“Their leader’s Firefoot. He sends word as how they’ll 
all disperse peaceable, notfurstandin’ the bucks as has been 
wiped out, ef you’ll guv ’em a hundred steers and surrender 
up to ’em me and Sam.” 

This proposition was indignantly rejected in language 
more forcible than elegant; and the savage herald, giving a 
great grunt of disapproval, rode away. 

“By jingo! they’re preparing to attack,” cried Sam; and, 
there being every indication that such was the case, the 
colonel ordered his gallant little band back, so that their 
rear was supported by the front wall of the quadrangle sur- 
rounding the ranch — well knowing that the walls were too 
high for the enemy to attempt to scale it, the Blackfeet In- 
dians but seldom leaving their saddles to fight on foot, if 
they can help it. 

Only about one-third of the men were mounted — a bare 
dozen; and these were separated from the others, being sta- 
tioned a little to the right and rear, so as to be ready for a 
charge at the proper moment. 

The Indians came swooping down upon them, after their 
usual manner of fighting; that is, describing short circles at 
full speed, discharging their weapons when near to the 
enemy and then swinging out of range as rapidly as possi- 
ble. 

Nearly all of them were armed with bows and arrows, and 
as yet they had not effected much damage, though now and 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


33 


then one of them bit the dust under the less frequent but 
surer shots of the hunters. 

^‘There goes Bob Scarlet, or Firefoot, as they call him in 
their lingo!'^ cried Sam, pointing to the tall form of the 
Indian leader, who was splendidly mounted and armed, but 
who appeared to be engaged solely in directing the move- 
ments of his wild followers, rather than doing any fighting 
himself. ‘^^Does he bear a charmed life? Fve shot at him 
twice and missed.^^ 

^'It's a long range, Sam, a long range, muttered the 
colonel, between his teeth. ‘"Curse the villain! If lever 
get him in my power he won^t trouble my little girl any 
more. The renegade I"*’ 

""Big Horn, you try him with a shot,^' suggested Sam. 

""I ain’t ready fur to wipe out Firefut,” said Big Horn, 
grimly. "‘When I am, list look out fur airthquakes, fel- 
lers!” 

They all looked at the morose hunter with curiosity, for 
it was generally known that there was some mystery existing 
between him and the renegade, though. none had divined — 
except Sam, perhaps — exactly what it was. 

""By Jove! they’re preparing for a regular cavalry charge,” 
said Lieutenant Dutton — a young officer on a visit from the 
States — who was finely mounted, but appeared to be in bad 
health. 

""Reserve your fire till the word is given,” cried the 
colonel, turning to those on foot, ""and be ready for a 
charge,” said he, turning to the mounted men. 

The Indians, fully one hundred strong, came thundering 
on, sending a flight of arrows before them, and uttering 
their terrific war-whoop, with Firefoot in the van, apparently 
as calm and as inflexible as though engaged in a deer-hunt. 
The little band poured in a volley wdth terrible effect, which, 
however, only caused them to waver for an instant. 

""Charge!” yelled the colonel, and, while their comrades 
were reloading their pieces, the mounted hunters drove in 
among the redskins lil^e a living wedge, pistol and knife in 
hand, and dealing devastation on either side. 

Old Chapman, beside himself with fury at seeing the 
Indian leader close at hand, spurred toward him with a 
frantic shout. 

""Dog of a renegade, do you want me? Here I am!” he 
yelled. 


34 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


‘^It isn’t you, but your daughter I want/’ was the cool re- 
joinder, as a wave of the conflict swept them apart. 

‘‘Villain! doubly-dyed villain!” cried young Dutton, 
dashing through the press on his powpful steed, and aim- 
ing a flerce blow with his saber. ‘‘This for the persecutor 
of Mollie Chapman!” 

But the renegade_evaded the blow and dashed him aside 
like a feather. 

“Away, boy, stripling!” he exclaimed with a sneer. 
“Doves are for eagles, not for sparrows!” 

But his whole demeanor changed when the chances of the 
confused and hurrying fray brought him close to Big Horn, 
whom he made no attempt to harm. 

A sad, almost imploring expression swept over his stern 
face. 

“Big Horn — my mother — my poor, lost mother — for the 
love of Heaven, where is she?” he gasped, in a broken voice. 

“Ha, ha, ha ! she’s whar ive'll never see her, Kobe-rt 
Scarlet!” 

“But I — tell me, who are you to torture me thus? Big 
Horn — hunter ” 

A mocking laugh was the only response, and a moment 
later they were shocked apart by two riders — Eocky Moun- 
tain Sam and a powerful warrior — bursting between them as 
they hung, horse to horse, and hand to hand, in a terriflc 
struggle. The Indian’s hold suddenly relaxed as the 
hunter’s knife sank deep into his breast; and, almost at the 
same instant, Sam himself reeled back with his horse shot 
from under him. 

Big Horn and several others were also speedily unhorsed 
and doing tlieir best on foot, while fully one half of the 
little band were either slain or sorely wounded. The over- 
whelming savages were continuing the fight with blood- 
thirsty energy. It seemed almost certain that the defenders 
of the ranch would be speedily overwhelmed, when suddenly 
Rocky Mountain Sam glanced aloft and raised a joyful cry 
that changed the whole tenor of the contest as if by magic. 

“Booglebooby!” he roared, at the top of his voice. 

At that dread name, nearly every savage turned his gaze 
aloft with superstitious terror; when down came a shower of 
fine sand among them, filling their eyes, noses, and ears, and 
causing them to forget all about fighting in the blinding, 
smarting pain. 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


35 


The hunters took advantage of their confusion by reload- 
ing their rifles and pouring a hot volley among them. But, 
so great was the disparity of numbers that even this ad- 
vantage would have been of a transient nature, had not. at 
this moment the great balloon of Mad Max, with a terrible 
flapping of cloth and snapping of cordage, come plunging 
and surging down, the basket — with Max and his assistant, 
Teddy, in it — sweeping over the ground this way and that, 
and leveling every one and every thing with which it came 
in contact. 

^^Booglebooby! Booglebooby!^’ yelled the Indians in dis- 
may; some of them casting themselves upon their faces, 
others fleeing, and still others conquering their superstitious 
terrors, and keeping up the fight. 

But it was of short duration. While the White Hermit, 
who under other circumstances would have cut a decidedly 
comic figure in his comical hat and snowy robe, stood erect 
with his arms folded, and looking upon the scene with the 
utmost stoicism, his Irish follower was leaning over the 
edge of the car, wielding a short crowbar shillelah fashion, 
with which he was knocking the warriors right and left. 

The hunters now gathered themselves together en masse^ 
and with this powerful auxiliary, for a support, made a 
final and terrible charge. 

^^Booglebooby!^’ roared the redskins, and all the efforts 
of their leader to stay their panic-stricken flight was in vain. 

^^After them! Give chase cried the colonel; and not 
only did those who had been engaged in the actual conflict 
obey the order, but the few servants who had been posted in- 
side the house to take care of its inmates also rushed out, 
and joined in the helter-skelter chase. 

The pursuit was kept up for half an hour, to the very 
brink of the river, which most of the fugitives managed to 
swim with their ponies; but of the hundred and upward 
that took part in the fray, more than fifty redskins were left 
upon the field. 

“'Good enough! good enoughT' commented Colonel Chap- 
man, wiping the perspiration from his brow. “But what 
would we have done without the aid of that bully old lunatic 
with his balloon? Eh, Sam?"" 

“It would a been a derned tight fit,"" said our hero, who 
was tightening the girths of the pony he had just captured, 
preparatory to mounting him. 


36 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Big Horn and a number of others had already provided 
themselves with mounts in a similar way, and the return to 
the ranch was wearily but leisurely taken up. 

‘^^Good Heaven! how many of our own poor fellows must 
be laid low/^ exclaimed Chapman. ^‘^'VVe must make all 
haste, and take care of the wounded. Thank Heaven for 
my early surgical training, for it will stand many a poor 
fellow in good stead now; and the women at the house will 
do their best.^^ 

At this moment, however, a man who had ridden consid- 
erably in advance, and had attained a little rise of ground 
commanding a view of the ranch, uttered a cry of dismay, 
and came galloping back at full speed. 

'^Colonel/^ he cried, ^‘Miss Mollie — the Prairie Blossom 
— she^s tuk prisoner by Firefoot single-handed, as sure as a 
gun !” 

The colonel at first turned pale, and then forced a laugh. 
How could it be? 

^Tmpossible. YouTe looney P he exclaimed, angrily. 

^'Look fur yourself, then,^^ said the informant, sullenly. 

^ ‘While we was givin’ chase, he’s been and stole inter the 
house all by hisself, an’ grabbed the gal.” 

Without a word the whole party pushed on to the summit 
of the hill. A single glance served to verify the truth of 
what had been reported. 

The Prairie Blossom was a captive. 


CHAPTEK V. 

THE PRAIRIE BLOSSOM A CAPTIVE. 

Before the cock began to crow 
We made our early meal, 

And by the torches’ trembling glow 
We armed ourselves with steel. 

While wintry thoughts around us fell 
Like blossom-showers in June, 

For weal or woe we bade farewell 
At setting of the moon. 

Upon a ridge about a mile beyond the ranch was plainly 
outlined against the brilliant sky the form of the renegade 
chieftain, seated upon his powerful horse, and holding before 
him over the saddle bow a graceful, motionless figure, clad 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


37 


in white, which no one of the party could doubt was the in- 
sensible form of Miss Chapman. 

He seemed to gaze leisurely at his jnemies for a moment, 
and then, waving his hand, rode away and disappeared over 
the ridge. 

The unhappy father was for the moment almost paralyzed 
with mingled grief and rage. Then burst forth his fury, 
like a tornado. 

‘^Away! after him! after him!” he yelled. ^‘The villain! 
the cunning villain! We just left the door right open for 
his sneaking purpose. After him, I say! By the Eternal 

But the pressure of a strong hand upon his arm caused 
him to turn, and the reproving gaze of Big Horn com- 
pelled him to quell his puerile rage. 

‘^Colonel,” said the old hunter, ^MonT bust yer biler. 
Keep on yer boots an^ breeches, an’ listen to common sense. 
That ere boss as Firefoot’s on is a pure Pawnee flyer, as 
hain’t got his ekal in this ere Territory.” 

^^Great Heaven! Big Horn, what shall I do?” 

^‘Jist wait — that’s all. Give us time fur to rest an’ think, 
an’ then leave the hull thing to Sam an’ me, an’ that old 
critter with the gas-bag. Fust, come to the house an’ larn 
the news.” 

^^My horse, at any rate, may equal the renegade’s in 
speed,’^ said Lieutenant Dutton, whose rage and grief 
almost equaled the colonel’s though he was not so demon- 
strative about it. ‘‘Here goes, anyway.” And bedashed 
off on his superb but jaded animal at the top of his speed. 

“He’ll be back in half an hour, altogether bunged up,” 
said Sam. “Come, colonel. Big Horn is right. Let’s go 
to the ranch and learn the news. See; there’s old Max 
motionihg to us from his balloon. Depend upon it, he sees 
everything up there, and will be able to put us on the right 
scent when the time comes. ” 

The White Hermit, whose balloon was anchored about 
two hundred feet from the ground, was leaning over the 
edge of the car, signing them to go to the ranch, in which 
he was imitated by his stock-headed subordinate, Teddy, in 
the most extravagant manner. 

AVhen they got to the house they found the several ser- 
vants— all of them Indian squaws — moaning and tearing 
their hair, and Miss Yearning in apparent hysterics; while 


38 


KOCKT MOUNTAIN SAM. 


little bright-eyed Fayaway, the only one in possession of her 
senses and courage, was sitting rather disconsolately in the 
middle of the floor, with the blood still trickling from a 
cut on the forehead. 

When Miss Yearning had been brought to and induced 
to give an account of the affair, it was generally under- 
stood that soon after the white men had taken up the pur- 
suit of the panic-stricken foe, Firefoot — who had probably 
concealed himself purposely as soon as the flight of his fol- 
lowers became inevitable — entered the house, armed to the 
teeth, and announced to the terrifled Mollie that she must 
consider herself his captive. 

The Indian servants had left their mistress unprotected 
and flown to the extreme corner of the corral in terror, and 
Miss Yearning had wept and pleaded for her niece in vain, 
and then gone into a faint — according to her own account. 

But it was evident that the only one who had ventured to 
stand between the young lady and her captor was little 
Fayaway, who had been brutally stricken down and ren- 
dered temporarily senseless, only to recover to And that Mollie 
had been carried off. 

‘‘The leetle gaFs abrickT^ growled Big Horn, passing out 
of the house to help carry in the wounded; while Sam was 
at Fayaway^s side in a moment, kissing her tenderly, and 
soothing her as fond lovers know best how, apparently much 
to the annoyance of Miss Yearning, who had ere this ex- 
perienced a tender sentiment for the handsome young 
hunter. 

""Well, thank Heaven, Mollie^s a spirited girl, and able to 
take care of herself till we effect a rescue, and it’s no use 
squealing over burnt cakes,” said the colonel, earnestly 
striving to take matters coolly. ""The first thing to do at 
any rate, is to look after these poor, wounded fellows.” 

He passed out to superintend the care of the wounded, 
who were being conveyed into another and larger room of 
the large and irregular building. 

In about one hour Lieutenant Dutton came back with 
his horse gone dead lame, and a most rueful expression of 
countenance. But he took example from the old colonel’s 
fortitude, and worked along with the others as cheerfully 
as he could. 

About the same time the White Hermit drew and made 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 39 

fast liis car nearer to the earth, and entered the cabin with 
much dignity. 

“The spoiler and his prey have vanished among the 
mountains, and left not a trace behind,^' said he, with con- 
siderable unction. 

‘Ts that all you know, friend Max?” asked the colonel, 
anxiously. 

“All that I know at present, my worthy sir,” replied the 
Hermit, blandly; “but I can probably easily track them at 
any time, with the humble assistance of my friend, the 
balloon out yonder. My dear sir, when I passed the icy 
barriers of the Antartic Ocean in the spring of the year 1848, 
and sweeping over the boiling hot interior sea to the very 
crater of the Pole into which the waters empty themselves in 
a stupendous cataract, I was often filled with apprehension 
lest I should lose my way, but Providence, sir, was my stay, 
my mentor, and my unfailing guide. Again, in my second 
aerial voyage to the moon in 1851, I found — but you are not 
listening, sir.” 

The great services rendered by the old man were too fresh 
in his recollection to admit of interrupting him in his 
vagaries with bad temper; but Colonel Chapman^s mind 
was too much occupied with apprehensions of his daughter’s 
fate to be seriously bored by them, so he mildly cut the mad 
professor short by turning away from him. 

The sun was setting behind the mountains before the dead 
were all buried and the wounded properly cared for. 

Then, after a hearty meal, the colonel held a general 
council of operations in which Kocky Mountain Sam, Big 
Horn, and himself were the principal spokesmen. 
It is true the professor offered as pungent and 
relative matter, a continuation of his disquisitions upon 
the North and South Poles, his voyage to the moon, with 
other suggestions of kindred nature and importance, but he 
was firmly and politely crowded out. 

The chief object in view being the recovery of the Prairie 
Blossom at the earliest possible moment, it was at last de- 
termined that Big Horn should continue his scouting ex- 
pedition alone, deviating so far from his originally intended 
route as to guide a rescuing party on the following morning 
well on their way in the pursuit of the renegade. He was 
then to push on his way to Fort Benton, make a report of 


40 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


the battle that had taken place^ and request military assist- 
ance for the ranch at once. 

Sam was to return to the canon with the White Hermit 
in his balloon, and in the morning set out with him on an 
aerial voyage to co-operate with those below in prosecuting 
the rescue of the fair captive. 

^^Won’t there be room enough in the car for little Fay- 
away, too asked Sam, as he began to make his hurried 
preparations, for it was rapidly growing dusk, and they 
would have to make haste to effect a safe landing on the 
other side of the mountain wall before total darkness set in. 

'^Yes,^^ said the professor; ‘^^she will make the fourth 
passenger, counting in our Teddy, who must have got drunk, 
for I havenT seen him about here for an hour; but Fayaway 
is a light weight, and we have plenty of ballast to lighten 
up with if necessary. 

‘^‘^Why not stay over night, and make the ascent to-mor- 
row morning?^’ said the colonel, thoughtlessly. 

‘‘Because, my dear sir,^^ said the professor, wagging his 
old head with the overweening consciousness of superior 
wisdom, “my balloon would then be empty, and from what 
gaseous reservoir could I replenish it? You see, all my vol- 
canic gas-works — the sublime laboratories of nature, sir, are 
on the other side of the ridges, and as the mountains won’t 
come to Mohamed, Mohamed must go to the mountains. 
Now, when I crossed the icy barriers of the Antartic Ocean 
in ” 

“All right,” interrupted the colonel. “Go to-night, then, 
by all means. Come, we’ll go out, and see you off.” 

“Jist as I expected,” said the old man, looking into the 
car, when they all came out around the balloon. “Here he 
is as drunk as a boiled owl. Teddy, wake up, wake up,” he 
cried, punching with a long stick into the basket, as though 
he was stirring up an opossum or raccoon. 

The somnolent subordinate was aroused with some diffi- 
culty; the professor, Sam, and Fayaway sprang into the 
car; the anchor was drawn in; and, after discharging a large 
quantity of the ballast, the great balloon rose slowly and 
majestically into the clouds, still rosy with the setting" sun, 
and drifted away over the lofty mountain peaks. 

A few words of explanation are necessary here; and they 
shall be as brief as possible, in order not to distract the 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


41 


reader^s attention from the continued and. stirring action of 
the story for more than a moment or two. 

Colonel Chapman was a Kentucky gentleman, who, hav- 
ing lost most of his property through unfortunate specula- 
tions, and becoming misanthropic through the loss of his 
wife, had, ten years before, purchased the vast tract of land 
upon which his ranch, or farm, was now built, and removed 
thither with his household, consisting of his only child, 
Mollie, and a number of slaves. He had won the good will 
of the savages by fair dealings with them, and thougli his 
slaves had left him one by one for freer fields, his fiocks 
and herds had vastly increased, his influence had grown 
more extensive, and fortune had smiled upon him generally. 
Mollie had been accompanied by a poor Kew England gov- 
erness, who, after teaching her pupil pretty much all she 
knew herself, had laid her weary bones beneath the prairie 
grasses. Miss Yearning, the sister of the coloneUs deceased 
wife, had come, at her brother-in-law’s solicitation, to reside 
with him and his daughter. She had quite a little fortune 
of her own, but ^d fallen in love \Yith border life, and, 
moreover, was in emiest need of an article which maiden 
ladies of an uncertain age have, time out of mind, been de- 
sirous of obtaining — a husband. Whether she hoped to obtain 
one among the comparatively womanless regions of Montana, 
or merely remained for the love of the thing, is a matter of 
question; but, at any rate, she hung to her brother-in-law. 
The only other member of the family was a visitor. Lieu- 
tenant Charlie Dutton, the young gentleman already men- 
tioned. He was a distant relative, and a graduate of West 
Point, who had seen some service, but was now enjoying an 
unlimited furlough, on account of ill-health. He had 
visited his relative, with the intention of making a stay of. 
but a few weeks, but, having fallen in love with Mollie on 
sight, had already stretched his visit to well-nigh a twelve- 
month, and had no serious idea of terminating it in a 
hurry. 

"'Tell me, colonel,'" said he, that evening, when his host 
and he sat alone- in the principal apartment of the ranch, 
where they had been in vain endeavoring to rally each other 
out of their despondency consequent upon the capture of 
the Prairie Blossom, ‘"who and what is this crazy genius of 
a White Hermit, as they call him? Where did he come 
from?"' 


42 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


^ ‘None of ns can tell for certain,” replied the colonel. 
'^We only know that, three or four years ago, he came np 
on the little steamer that plies on the Missouri, during high 
water, as far as Fort Benton, with his balloons and other 
traps on board. He had some means, too, and had already 
purchased from the Government the strange, little volcanic 
valley in which he lives. Thither he conveyed his' traps 
with extreme difficulty — for the canon is only accessible by 
a single pass, with which but few are acquainted — had a 
cabin built by some quartermasters hangers-on and work- 
men at the Fort, bought some stock, built himself an obser- 
vatory and one thing or another, and he has been there ever 
since. I suppose he is some retired balloonist, who has 
gone a little cracked on his aerostatic theories, that is all. 
But he has more than once rendered important services to 
the military authorities by means of his balloons, is looked 
upon as a sort of god or devil by the Indians, and you are 
already aware of what he did for us to-day. Gad! if it 
hadnT been for the timely arrival of his gas-bag, weM have 
been rubbed out altogether.” 

‘‘I believe you. And you think he can aid us in our quest 
of poor — poor Mollie, to-morrow?” 

"T do. I place implicit faith in his sagacity, despite his 
crack-brainedness on some subjects; and there is no braver 
or more skillful hunter in the mountains than the young 
fellow who accompanies him — Kocky Mountain Sam.” 

He is young.” 

‘‘In years, but he has been a man — from his very child- 
hood, I was about to say. Hanger and hardship turn a lad 
into a man very quick, Charlie; and, moreover, Sam is the 
graduated pupil of Big Horn, the ranger.” 

‘‘There is one other thing my curiosity is excited about,” 
said Lieutenant Dutton. “I have heard much in the 
gossip around the ranch here of a mystery existing be- 
tween the redoubtable Big Horn and that rascally rene- 
gade — Firefoot, Kobert Scarlet, or whatever his dirty name 
may chance to be. Something about the latteFs mother, is 
it not? Or what is it? Is he looking for his mother, and 
has the hunter got her hidden away somewhere Qut of his 
knowledge and reach? or what is it?” 

‘‘Something very like what you just hinted at, I strongly 
suspect,” replied the colonel. Then, after a thoughtful 
pause, he said; “liobert Scarlet was born in Montreal, of 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


43 


respectable parents. His father died when he was a child. 
When he was a lad of eigliteen, and pursuing his studies at 
the medical college in Montreal, his mother set out to make 
a visit to a relative, a fur-trader, residing in Pembina, on 
the Red River of the North. While there, she was captured 
by the Blackfeet Indians — a branch tribe of which then 
occupied that region. Robert — who had means, and still 
has some at his command — set out upon a pilgrimage in 
search of her, vowing, with truly filial and noble determi- 
nation, to rescue her if she was alive, to collect and bury 
her bones, if she were dead, or never return to the haunts 
of civilization again. His inquiries were in vain. The 
Blackfeet tribes were removed by the Government to their 
present reservation. Still, with the same, noble, steadfast 
aim in view, he followed them hither. It was about this 
time — some three years ago — that he made my acquaintance 
and was admitted into my house. He at once fell madly in 
love with my daughter, who, however, never manifested 
anything but the greatest aversion to him. His intentions 
were the most honorable — he had wealth and respectability, 
and I did not see any special objections to his prosecuting 
his suit, provided he did not annoy Mollie too much, until 
I was made aware of grave charges against his character. 
No matter what they were — I was satisfied that, while he 
had been actuated by the noblest motives respecting his 
mother^s recovery, he had been leading a wild and desperate 
life upon his own account — had defrauded a friend, who had 
trusted him, out of his sweetheart, besides committing 
countless acts of rascality; in a word, I learned so much 
about his dark and disgraceful past that I at once forbade 
him my house. We had a terrible altercation, and he went 
away vowing revenge, and swearing that he would have 
Mollie with or without my consent, or her consent either, 
for that matter. He has made three attempts to carry her 
off previous to the one of to-day in which he was successful. 
He has adopted the life and habits of the Indians, in order 
the more thoroughly to prosecute his search, they say. I 
am sometimes charitable enough — when' my blood is cool — 
to credit him with being crazy. He has enormous influence 
with these tribes, has money, which he freely spends for 
their benefit — is shrewd, cunning, and desperately brave. 
Big Horn may know of his mother^s whereabouts, and keep 
his secret in order to keep his power, but of this I cannot 


44 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


say. That, my young friend, is all I know of Eobert Scar- 
let, the renegade. As I said before, I sometimes think him 
insane. 

^‘And I think him the blackest villain that ever pol- 
luted the face of God’s earth cried Dutton. 

‘‘It is perfectly natural that you should think in that 
wise, and crazy or not crazy, be certain of it, his life v/ill 
be of little value should he ever fall into our hands, or, 
after what has happened, into the hands of the military 
authorities. But come,^^ said the old man, rising. ‘‘Let 
us to bed at once. To-morrow, you know, is to be a day 
of action, my boy.’’’ 


CHAPTER VI. 

THE AVENGERS OF THE AIR. 

Oh, for the power to lightly spring 
Over the Sierras that glance and gloom! 

Oh, for the condor’s sweeping wing — 

The wild-hawk’s flight, the eagle’s plume! 

To track to their lair the secrets dread. 

By crag and chasm, and peak concealed. 

That here have been lett of the earthquake’s tread, 

When the solid globe to its center reeled. 

The aeronauts, after quitting their mother earth at Chap- 
man’s Ranch, had the pleasure of witnessing the sublime 
spectacle of an evening sunrise — that is, the reappearance, 
as they soared aloft, of the sun, which had sunk below the 
western horizon — and then crossing the mountain barrier 
safely effected a landing, though not without some difficulty 
on account of the darkness. 

When the balloon was safely housed they gathered to- 
gether at the cabin, where the old squaw, Minnetrapa, was 
busily engaged in preparing them an ample meal, and 
everything looked exceedingly snug and cozy. 

“We’ll have to start at daybreak,” said the professor; 
“and Teddy and I will have to be up betimes to get the bal- 
loon ready and lay in our ballast.” 

As he spoke, he opened the little cupboard and helped 
himself from the big stone bottle, which his shock-headed 
subordinate regarded with an affectionate and wistful gaze. 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


45 


^^Arrah, now. Mister Max, aiU be’nt ye goin^ to give yer 
thried and thrue sarvent a dhrop av the'poteen?^^ 

‘‘Not a drop — youVe had enough already, you guzzling 
gossoon! Take example from Sam, there, who is never 
troubled with such degraded yearnings.” 

He had pity upon Teddy, however, and gave him a snif- 
ter of the contents of the bottle. 

“Teddy is not to go with us to-morrow, is he?” inquired 
Sam. 

“No.” 

“Then why shouldnT little Fayaway go along? If we 
succeed in our search. Miss Chapman — poor thing! — may 
need some consolation and attendance that a man canTvery 
well give her, you know.” 

“Ah! you rascal; any excuse to have your sweetheart by 
your side, eh? However, I see no objection to her going, if 
Minnetrapa here can spare her, and if she has no objection 
herself.” 

Minnetrapa, it proved, could spare her, and of course 
Fayaway was not averse to a project that kept her by her 
lover^s side. 

“Sam,” said Fayaway, when they were eating their supper, 
“great lady at Chapman^s ranch hatee me, much lovie you.” 
And she went on to describe Miss Yearning’s aversion to her 
and the probable cause. 

Sam burst into a fit of immoderate laughter. 

“What! the old girl spooney on a pullet like me?” he 
cried. “Come, Fayaway, that’s too good a joke to be 
true.” 

“Miss Yearning is still a handsome woman,” said the 
White Hermit, gravely; “and, moreover, she has a snug 
little fortune in the States in her own right.” 

“I don’t care if she’s worth a million,” said Sam. 
“Little Fayaway here is good enough for me, and more than 
I deserve. When we are married, which we shall be in 
the summer ” 

“Don’t talk like a fool,” said the professor, testily. “For- 
tunes are not picked up every day, with a good-looking 
woman in the bargain. Fayaway is well enough for amuse- 
ment, perhaps, but then— then we don’t marry squaws, you 
know.” 

“Speak for yourself, you old heathen!” cried the young 


46 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


hunter^ with more temper than he Was in the habit of show- 
ing. ‘^But I intend to marry the girl that has my heart. 

‘‘My dear son/’ said the professor, with much suavity, 
“I remember the time when I entertained the same absurd 
opinions myself. But after I had crossed the icy barriers of 
the Antartic Ocean, solved the secrets of the electric currents 
of the North Pole, traversed the burning, unexplored 
regions of Africa, and hovered, lost in contemplative won- 
der, above the mysterious source of the Nile — my son, you 
do not seem to be listening. 

“No, Pm tired out. Tell the rest of your wonderful 
story to Miimetrapa there. Her appreciation will be as 
good as mine. Pm for bed. Good-night, Fayaway. Call 
us in time to-morrow, jDrof essor. And with this the young 
man passed into a rude apartment reserved for guests at 
the cabin, and was soon forgetting the tumultuous cares and 
dangers of the day in profound slumber. 

The professor aroused him before daylight, saying that 
Fayaway was already up and dressed, and that Teddy would 
have the balloon ready in half an hour. 

“Just time enough for a hearty breakfast, and then away 
‘we go,’^ said the White Hermit, cheerily. 

The breakfast was soon dispatched, and bidding old Min- 
netrapa good-by, the trio set out for the balloon, loaded with 
blankets and provisions, and Sam carrying his gun and 
other weapons besides. 

The sky was brightening in the east, they could hear the 
churning and spouting of the mud volcano, as they ap- 
proached its vicinity, and the columns of vapors and gases 
ascending from the multitudinous fissures in the soil, parti- 
ally obscured the growing dawn. 

‘■Phew!’^ exclaimed Sam, pinching his nostrils in a comi- 
cal way that aroused a merry laugh from Fayaway. “The 
devil must have onions for breakfast, to judge from the 
smell of his breath. 

They found the balloon already inflated, and Teddy stand- 
ing by it making fast the car — a much larger and roomier 
one than the one formerly used, and having a covered, can- 
vas top. 

“Yoi/ve prepared an all fired lot of provisions for the 
occasion,^^ remarked Sam, as he stowed away the wrappings 
and several sacks of dried meat and pilot bread, 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


47 


‘^‘Yes/^ said Max, coolly. ^‘As we are likely to be gone 
several days we may stand in need of all we liave.^^ 
r “'Several days/' cried Sam, aghast. “Do you mean to 
say that you intend to stay up in the clouds as long as 
that?'/ 

“By no means, my charming youth/' said Max, with a 
smile, but I do not intend to return to this canon until the 
object of our mission is fulfilled." 

“And how will you fill up the old gas-bag when the stuff 
all gives out of it?" 

“There are other laboratories of nature — other natural 
gas-works in America besides those that exist in this paltry 
little canon, my son. I know their locality, and can de- 
scend to them at will. Now jump aboard, both of you. 
Teddy, look well after the old woman and the stock when I 
am gone, you rascal, and I'll treat you to a jug of whisky 
on my return. Stand by the anchor, there, and let us up 
slowly. Easy! or you'll have us right in the jet of the mud 
volcano. Stand away, now, and let her rip!" 

The anchor tore from its fastenings. Teddy gave an 
Irish whoop from below, and the great balloon soared grace- 
fully aloft. They swung uncomfortably close to the volcano, 
however, and some of its hot, turpid volumes bespattered 
the car a little before it swept up beyond their reach. 

“Hurrah! there is the sun at last!" cried Sam, as the 
broad and burning face of the luminary suddenly burst upon 
their view from beyond the Sierras. 

“We shall have a glorious day. The wind is a little 
west of south, and not enough of it to give any trouble in 
steering," said the professor, at the same time giving the 
fan-wheel of his steering-apparatus a whirl, which made a 
rustling music in the still, bright air. 

“There — Minnetrapa, there! She lookie up at me," said 
Fayaway, looking over the car, and pointing below at the 
cabin, which was soon hidden from view as they drifted 
slowly over the mountains. 

Suddenly Sam uttered an exclamation. . 

“I say, professor!" he cried. “You say we will want 
provisions. Have you got any room in the car for fresh 
meat?" 

“Yes; we are already too light, and a little would help 
us in the way of ballast." 

Well, I see a herd of deer browsing on the ridge we will 


48 


IlOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


pass over in a few seconds. If you can slow up, I think I 
can manage to lasso one of them by the horns. 

^‘All right.^^ 

And the professor gave the rudder a whirl, while Sam 
hastily searched in the bottom of the car for a lariat. 

Having found one, he made one end fast to the car, and 
leaned over, with the noose in his hand, ready to make a 
cast; while little Fayaway looked on in delighted antici- 
pation. 

The deer were feeding on an open wold, high up on the 
summit of the ridge. They lifted up their graceful heads, 
sniffed the air suspiciously, and gazed at the approaching 
monster with a sort of timid wonder; when suddenly all of 
them scampered away, except a fine buck, the lord of the 
herd, who proudly reared his antlered head, stamped his 
feet, and seemed to disdain to retreat. 

That disdain was a fatal mistake upon his part. 

As the car of the balloon swung by but a few feet higher 
than his head, Sam hurled his lariat, and cleverly noosed 
the old fellow around the horns. The buck snorted, reared 
and plunged, and braced himself against the rocks; but it 
was no use; he was steadily and swiftly dragged along, then 
snatched off his feet, and, a moment later, he was oscillat- 
ing over an abyss, with nothing but blue air beneath him, 
kicking, twisting, and struggling in his vain efforts to 
escape. 

The balloon sagged a little on receiving this additional 
burthen, but the loss of a few pounds of ballast served to 
set things to rights; and then Sam, with the professors as- 
sistance, proceeded to haul up the deer, while Fayaway 
clapped her hands in childish glee. 

'‘Now, make the line fast!’^ called out Sam, when the 
deeFs head was on a level with the top of the car; and, 
leaning over the side, he cut the animal’s throat in a trice. 

Far down below springled the blood-drops, a strange and 
ruddy rain to be loosened from those airy heights, and, after 
a few struggles, all was over. 

"Well, I’m blowed if this ain’t the fust time I ever trap- 
ped game in this fashion,” exclaimed Sam, as with the help 
of Max and the Indian maiden, he dragged the carcass over 
into the car; "it’s more excitin’ than painter huntin’ a 
domed sight, I wonder what Big Horn would say to the 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


49 


gas-bag now. We’ve got fresh meat for a day or two any- 
how. What are you squintin’ at, professor?” 

The professor had apparently forgotten all about the 
game, and was absorbed in a study of the plain below, 
with his spy-glass to his eye. 

‘■^It’s them!” he at length said, drawing back. 'Tt’sthem 
as sure as a gun.” 

Who’s them?” 

‘^‘Why, the party from Chapman’s, starting out in pur- 
suit of the renegade and his captive. Don’t you see that 
line of horsemen winding among the scrub-oaks on the 
banks of the stream down there?’’ he added, pointing 
down. 

P’raps so; only they look more like ants than anything 
else.” 

If you would look through this telescope,” said the 
professor, ‘^you would make them out plainly enough to be 
men on horseback. But it is no matter; we must prepare 
a message to drop them as we pass over.” 

Old Max wrote on a piece of paper in lead pencil, as 
follows: 

“In the Heavens, 9 a. m. 

“We shall travel due north for one hundred miles, and hover in the 
vicinity of Crown Butte, Medicine Kiver, and Grizzly Bear all day and 
night until we see you again. 

“Firefoot’s fastness is, without doubt, somewhere in that vicinity. 

“Max Aiky, D. B., & F. K. A. A.” 

^^First-rate!” commented Sam, as he laboriously conned 
over this epstle. ^‘But what does *^0. B.,’ mean? Not 
^dead-beat,’ surely? And what does ^F. E. A. A.,’ mean?” 

^'Oan’t you guess?” 

^Tjet me see. Surely not ‘Freemason of the Eingtail 
Associated Asses,’ eh?” 

“You are not to be condemned for the defects of your 
early education, my young friend,” blandly explained the 
professor, as he tied the missive to the end of a short, heavy 
stick. “Those initials would be at once understood by 
cultivated people to mean: ‘Doctor of Ballooning, and Fel- 
low of the Koyal Association of Aeronauts.’ Now, as we are 
about over their heads, I shall send them this dispatch, for 
I see that they have already observed us.” 

The missive fell fluttering through the air, and fell di- 
rectly at the feet of the horsemen b§lQw. They sa^ onq, of 


50 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


them dismount and pick it up, and then wave his hand as a 
signal that it was understood. 

^''’Tis well,^^ said the White Hermit. ^^How for Crown 
Butte. But we are drifting a little too far to the eastward, 
I fancy.*' 

He seized the crank of the great fan wheel, and began to 
whirl it round at a great rate. In this way he occupied 
himself for a considerable time, while Fayaway and Sam, 
with their heads in suspicions juxtaposition, continued to 
gaze over the side at the varied and wonderful panorama 
that fleeted beneath, though probably exchanging tender 
words upon a subject of more human interest, though of 
less world-wide importance. 

As they passed slowly over the Butte, a bold and jagged 
spur of the main range, which here culminated into a huge 
sugar-loaf cone — with the silver thread of Medicine Eiver 
twining its wooded feet — the air current in which they had 
sailed so long, suddenly failed, leaving them absolutely be- 
calmed in mid-air; while below them and between them and 
the earth, the fleecy clouds, impelled by an under-current, 
went sailing on in singular contrast wdth the motionless 
calm that reigned above; at one moment opening to disclose 
glimpses of the fair, bright world below, and then closing 
up and paving the air beneath the car with masses of silvery 
white cloud that looked like carded wool. 

^‘This is a most remarkable phenomenon to occur at this 
brief distance from the earth,'' said Max, consulting the 
barometer and other scientiflc instruments. ^AVe are 
scarcely half a mile high and utterly becalmed, while the 
clouds beneath are in constant motion.'^ 

^‘Yes, and here is ah Injun encampment right at our 
feet.'' said Sam; and they all looked over, and, through a 
break in the cloudy floor, saw a dozen or more Indians gath- 
ered together at the foot of the mountain, and at such a 
short distance that their voices could be distinctly heard. A 
single wigwam, or temporary lodge, of bark and skins, stood 
a little distance apart, and the Indians appeared to be busily 
engaged in lighting a Are, preparatory to making a pot boil, 
which was suspended on a cross-piece, supported by two 
upright forked sticks over a heap of fagots, before which 
two or three of the savages knelt patiently striking their 
flints with steel, "^hile their comrades lounged about, look- 
ing lazily on. ' ' ' 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


51 


said the professor, rubbing his hands and smiling 
in his peculiarly ghastly way — very much like a death^s-head 
at a picnic; ‘diere^s a capital chance to improve upon the 
superstitious horror in which these copper-colored loafers 
regard my simple balloon. How much water did we lay in 
with our provisions, Sam 

‘‘Two kegs and a barrel,^^ replied Sam. 

“Good enough said the other, stooping and raising a 
small trap-door, which opened a hole about twelve inches 
square in the bottom of the car. “Now, sling that water- 
barrel over here, so that the spigot will be directly over the 
center of this hole. Tm going to see if we can’t puzzle those 
fellows a little before they succed in making that pot boil.^^ 

In the meantime the Indians below, utterly oblivious of 
enemies or mischief-makers in their vicinity, kept strik- 
ing away at their flints and puffing away at their rather 
damp tinder with a will. At length one of them succeeded 
in cultivating the much desired spark, and applying it to 
the dead leaves underneath the heap, and all gave a grunt 
of satisfaction as the bright flames leaped and writhed 
among the dry twigs and branches. 

But their joy was of brief duration. 

Suddenly a stream of water, about half as thick as a man’s 
wrist, and descending from Heaven alone knew where, came 
pouring down, extinguishing the blaze, and scattering the 
dry sticks in every direction, in the twinkling of an eye. 

The savages^ in utter amazement, looked first at each 
other and then aloft; but the stream of water having eeased 
and the fleece-clouds having drifted between them and the 
balloon, of course they were at a loss to account for the re- 
markable occurrence. 

They made up for their lack of knowledge by soundly 
abusing each other, and went to work building another fire- 
heap in a dry spot. 

Again the flint and steel were brought into requisition, 
and again the cheery blaze began to mount, and crawl, and 
crackle among the leaves and twigs under the stew-pot, and 
the hungry fellows began to rub their hollow stomachs in 
anticipation of a hearty meal, when down came the minia- 
ture water-spout again, scattering fire and fagots right and 
left. 

The Indians set up a howl of consternation, and the ut- 

most hubbub prevailed, as they could see nothing overhead 


52 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


but the thin fleecy clouds, whose light vapors, pierced and 
shivered through and through by the sunlight, precluded 
the possibility of their holding so much as a pint of water. 

And now the chief, with his young squaw at his side, ap- 
peared at the door of the wigwam and began to snort and 
blow away at a great rate, from which it would have been 
evident, even to one who was unfamiliar with the lingo, 
that he wanted his dinner very badly, and was heartily tired 
of waiting for it. 

His followers replied by a jargon of sounds, accom- 
panied by a multitude of explanatory gesticulations, and he 
strode out to the remains of the fire, around which they 
were gathered, still vociferating at each other like so many 
parrots and cockatoos in a cage. 

He had barely pushed his way among them, with anger 
and disdain written upon his stormy face, however, before a 
perfect deluge of water — for the bottom of the water-cask 
in the car above at this moment fell out — came splashing 
down, thoroughly drenching them all and playing the duse 
with their war-paint. 

They shivered and yelled, but before they could entirely 
recover their senses a grapnel — deftly lowered down by a 
cord from above — quickly descended, caught the stew-pot 
by one of its side handles, and jerked the contents, of 
water, broken meat, and wild turnips, over the entire party, 
and then, after setting the stew-pot upside down on the 
head of the astonished chieftain, after the fashion of a hel- 
met of the middle ages, disappeared in the air before any 
one could see it. 

The Indians now came to the conclusion, beyond a doubt, 
that they were bewitched, and the utmost confusion pre- 
vailed for some moments. The young squaw, with her 
baby strapped upon her back, came out of the wigwam to 
join in the general hubbub and bewail the loss of her soup, 
and the, whole gang, who were probably nearly all of them 
on the verge of starvation, set up a most lugubrious howl, 
and for the time being seemed incapable of any useful ac- 
tion. 

At length, however, their leader, who was the first to 
recover his presence of mind, prevailed upon them to 
renew their attempt at fire-making under the spreading 
branches of a gigantic oak tree, and retired with his squaw 
to the interior of the wigwam, dolefully rubbing his dia- 


KOCKY MOUNTAIK SAM. 


63 


phragm, and looking as if he could easily and right will- 
ingly devour the side of a buffalo without turning a hair. 

Everything now for some time appeared to progress satis- 
factorily, unmarred by mysterious outside influences of any 
kind. A new Are was started, this time with success, and 
the replenished stew-pot began to bubble and simmer over 
it with an energy that gave forth appetizing promises, and 
caused the redskins to lick their chops with anticipative 
gusto. 

The big chief upon reaching the interior of his lodge, 
threw himself on a heap of deer-skins and lighted his pipe, 
while his good-looking squaw sat at his side, playing with 
her young one, and chattering to her good man so merrily 
as frequently to call forth a grim smile over his harsh and 
warlike front. 

But suddenly he rose to a sitting posture, and curiously 
eyed the birchen canopy over his head, for it was moving 
and swaying to and fro in the most surprising and un- 
accountable manner. She also noticed it, and sprang to 
her feet in alarm. 

The wigwam was not only shaking from its apex to the 
ground, but it was actually being carried bodily up into the 
air. 

The chief leaped upon his feet, and giving utterance to 
an appalling yell, clutched his rifle. His followers about 
the fire answered it with their harsh voices, and crowded 
up just in time to see their leader and his family left roof- 
less while the roof itself slowly ascended into the air until it 
was as high as the summit of the highest trees. Here it 
paused, and swayed about in mid-air for a moment, and was 
then permitted to settle quietly down upon the peaked top 
of a lof-.y cedar, where it looked very like a monstrous night 
cap on the head of a giant. 

The savages were astounded, bewildered, mystified, and 
frightened beyond measure, when suddenly a puff of wind 
parted the bright fleecy canopy of the skies, revealing to 
their astonished vision the motionless balloon, with the 
weird face and figure of the White Hermit glaring down at 
them from his magic car, and shaking his staff at them in 
well-simulated wrath. 

^‘Booglebooby! Booglebooby they roared, and scam- 
pered away under the trees as fast as their legs could carry 
them, their valorous chieftain leading the race, and his wife 


54 


KOCKY MOUKTAIN SAM. 


following, nimble of foot, with her pappoose kicking and 
screaming on her back. 


CHAPTER VIL 

THE INDIAN'S STILL FUKTHER ASTONISHED. 

The air hath its secrets, as well as the earth, 

There are specters of wind and of storm, 

They have peopled the world from its hour of birth, 

In many a wild, fierce form. 

Their coursers are crimson and meteor-manned, 

Their lances are bolts of the thunder. 

Their arms with the tide of red battles are stained. 

And the green earth shrinks, quivering, under. 

^^Well, Sam, I think we’ve given those fellows a big scare 
for the present,” said Professor Max, turning around in the 
balloon-car, in the bottom of which Sam and the Indian 
maiden were sitting convulsed with laughter. ‘T reckon 
we’d better go up a mile or so and strike an air current. I 
know there is one up there that will waft us directly on our 
course toward Grizzly Bear Lake, and this mid-air stagnation 
is growing decidedly monotonous. That little stove there is 
in good order, I believe, and we have an abundance of fuel, 
so that Fayaway can broil us some venison steaks while we 
are running the old bag. Take a hand, now^ and heave 
over some ballast. That’s the ticket, we’re rising finely. 
Blast the bag, she seems to have grown lazy.” And while 
Sam tossed over several sacks of sand, the White Hermit 
seized the rudder-crank and made the great fan-wdieels re- 
volve with great rapidity and noise. 

The balloon arose swiftly, soon struck the desired air- 
current, and began to move along pretty fast. Sam helped 
Faya way get up the fire in the little stove, which the old 
aeronaut had provided for the occasion with his usual fore- 
thought, some choice bits were cut from the carcass of the 
fine buck that had been captured, and in a few moments 
the air was filled with the savory odor of broiling meat. 

“By jingo! this begins to be cozy and homelike,” said 
Sam, whose usually excellent appetite had been quickly re- 
newed by therarified atmosphere combined with the excite- 
ment of the past few hours. ‘'What are you squinting at 
now, professor?’^ 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


55 


'‘Have yon forgotten the purposes of onr present voyage, 
myson?’^ said Max, in a tone of mild reproof, and hiking 
his eye for a moment from the telescope with which he 
had been anxiously scrutinizing the hills and plains be- 
neath. "If you have not, I should think you would be 
following my example and endeavor to find some traces of 
the objects of our search, instead of skylarking with that 
girl there like a schoolboy with a new toy.'’’ 

Sam accepted the reproof in good part, and strove to imi- 
tate the professor’s example by peering earnestly over the 
side of the car; the underlying clouds having now almost 
disappeared, and left the view of the earth comparatively 
unobstructed. 

"I’ll bet you a new rifle that I sse something you don’t, 
in spite of your spy-glass,” said Sam, presently. 

"What is it, my son? You know I never waste my in- 
tellectual forces in the base folly of laying wagers,” said the 
philosopher. 

"I see an Injun posted on the top of a tree down there as 
I look out. A little farther on I see another, and still 
another, each in a position to command the surrounding 
country.” 

"Why, so do I?” cried the professor, excitedly. "What 
do you suppose they’re there for.” 

"For to telegraph the approach of some expected ene- 
my, I reckon,” said Sam. 

"You’re right!” cried the other; "for, see, just beyond 
that mountain we’re approaching, we can see the tops of 
lodges belonging to some Indian encampment. Ha! I see 
through the whole thing. Firefoot must be in that camp 
himself, with his captive, and anticipating an armed pur- 
suit, he has posted those fellows on the tree-tops to telegraph 
him of the nature and number of the expedition as soon as 
it makes its appearance. Ah, ha! he’s a deep one; but he’ll 
soon discover that old Max, the balloonist, is more than a 
match for a hundred redskin spies.” 

"What’s your gait?” 

"We will first descend into the calm air and remain quiet 
while we discuss our dinner,” said the old man, rubbing his 
hands in his dry, business-like manner. "After that we 
must look up one of those fellows in the ' tree-tops, and 
slightly enhance his reverence for the power of the White 


56 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Hermit and his Booglebooby. IVe got a plan in my bead 
concerning him.'^ 

He opened the throttle-valve slightly, and they slowly 
dropped out of the influence of the current, and were pretty 
soon again suspended, becalmed and motionless, in mid-air. 

They then fell upon the venison steaks, which little Fay- 
away had broiled to a turn, with the keen zest which only 
very hungry men can appreciate, the rich meat, with plenty 
of biscuit and water, serving them for an excellent repast, 
of which the pretty maiden partook her share. 

^^Now,’"" said the professor, after the debris of the feast 
had been removed and thrown overboard; ‘^now, Sam, get 
ready that grappling-iron, with the long line. DonT let the 
Are go out, my dear. You see that little tin can there, full 
of tar? YYll, put it on the stove at once. I had intended 
its contents to rub up this cordage, and it will have to an- 
swer another purpose now. How now, Sam? What do you 
see?"" 

‘^^AVe"re just about a thousand feet above this fellow"s head 
in the top of the beech-tree,"" said Sam, who was peering 
over the side, with his book and line in readiness. ‘^^And 
he doesn"t look up at all. I fancy he"s gone to sleep on his 
roost."" 

^‘That is true,"" said the old man, also peering over. ^‘Do 
you think you can hook him, if I let the car down easily to 
within a few yards of the tree?"' 

‘^Sartin! nothin’ easier,"" was the reply. ^Hlis belt hangs 
sort o" loose around his waist, an’ I can just hook it up at 
the small of the back. I"d sooner take my chances of fishin’ 
up that varmint than of seinin" a catfish in a three-foot 
mudhole. Easy now, old man?"" 

Max drew the throttle-valve very gently, the balloon came 
down as lightly and airily as a snow-flake, and the car 
swung within a few yards above the head of the Indian, who 
had indeed allowed himself to slumber on his lofty perch. 

Sam cautiously let down the grapnel, hooked it just in 
the right place, made the line fast to the side of the cat, 
and, the professor at the same time tossing out a sand-bag, 
the balloon soared aloft, and the luckless redskin was sud- 
denly and rudely awakened from his dreams by being 
dragged out into space. 

Utterly unable to account for his novel position, without 
the power to look up and solve the mystery of his extraordi- 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


57 


nary dislodgment, and with the earth apparently swinging 
and swaying below him at a distance of several hundred feet, 
he could only kick, and squirm, and squall at the top of his 
voice. 

^'Now, haul him up by degrees,^' said the professor, when 
the balloon had regained its altitude among the calm spaces, 
and was once more comparatively motionless. 

With a good deal of toil — for the grappled savage was by 
no means a light weight — they hauled him until his head 
was about on a level with the rim of the car. As they did 
so he swung round, clutched the sides with both hands, and 
made a desperate attempt to clamber over. But a few short 
raps on the knuckles convinced him of the futility of such 
attempts; and they were not renewed, though he kept up an 
incessant yelling, which was decidedly annoying. 

‘^Can you speak the Blackfeet lingo, Fayaway?^^ queried 
the old aeronaut. 

The girl nodded her head in assent. 

“Then tell him to stop his infernal noise, ask him how 
many warriors there are beyond the mountain there, and 
tell him if he will reveal the place where Firefoot, the rene- 
gade, is hiding with his captive, we will set him at liberty 
without hurting him.’"' 

The Indian made two or three pauses in his yells, so that 
Fayaway managed to get in a few words, and then went on 
vociferating as before. 

She then intimated to her companions that he was either 
unable to answer her questions or was too frightened to 
comprehend her. 

“All right — we^ll have to make an example of him, then,” 
said the professor. “Willful stupidity is sometimes as cul- 
pable as downright perversity. Sam, take that long- 
* handled brush there, and give him a good coating of the 
warm tar, while I bust open this old cushion, and get some 
feathers ready. WeTl make a fine bird of him in less than 
no time.” 

“Ay, ay, old man!” cried Sam, his face lighting up with 
mischievous merriment as he seized the long-handled brush 
and dipped it in the tar-pot. 

The Indian's girdle, by which the grappling-iron held 
him securely to the side of the car, had slipped up under 
his arm-pits, so that— being almost naked, with the excep- 
tion of the covering about his loins — he was in a capital 


58 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


position to receive the coating of tar, which Rocky Moun- 
tain Sam, leaning cautiously over the edge, brush in hand, 
vigorously and artistically applied. 

The yells which the Indian had formerly given utterance 
to were mere whispers in comparison with the unearthly 
screeches which he poured out as the hot and sticky sub- 
stance came in contact with his naked body and limbs; but 
an unceremonious jabbing of the smoking brush into his 
cavernous meat-crusher soon changed his howls to a feeble 
splutter, and the artistic embellishment of his person went 
on without further impediment. 

‘^Now, for the feathers!’^ cried the professor, who had been 
ripping up an old cushion, which he had used for his seat 
during many a voyage; and, leaning over the car, he shook 
out the contents over the well-tarred frame of tne luckless 
savage, who was speedily transferred into a hideous, feath- 
ered monster, bristling and ruffling from head to foot, and 
looking very like an upright porcupine, a Shanghai rooster 
with the feathers turned the wrong way, or, in fact, like 
almost anything rather than a human being. 

^'Now, Sam,^" said Professor Max, we’ll lower him 
down to the end of the rope, and swing him over to his 
fellow-spies in the other tree-tops, and see what they 
think of him in his new clothes. There ain’t much wind, 
but I guess I can work her along with the old propeller 
here.” 

They lowered him down to the full length of the rope, 
where he swung to and fro, kicking and striking out, and 
cutting a most extraordinary figure; while the professor 
turned vigorously at the fan-wheel, and the balloon, under 
its' influence, drifted slowly to the northeast, toward the 
lofty perches occupied by the other lookouts. 

The first of these was also apparently enjoying a solitary 
siesta on his airy seat, when he was suddenly aroused by 
something swinging against him, and a voice trying to say 
something to him in the deepest gutteral. 

He looked up just once — just long enough to catch a hor- 
rified glimpse of the nondescript feathery specter grinning 
and waving its arms at him through the leafy branches — 
and then, with a loud scream, fell from the tree and broke 
his neck. 

On moved the balloon, swinging its strange burden toward 
the third and last lookout, who happened to be awake, and 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


59 


who gazed upon the approaching phantom with a terror 
almost as supreme as that which had mastered his comrade. 
He did not lose his seat^ however, and by this time the luck- 
less wight at the eiid of the cord had so far freed his mouth 
of the tar as to give utterance to intelligible sounds, and be- 
gan to salute him with a torrent of jargon, which was prob- 
ably an explanation of his extraordinary predicament. 

Be that as it may, his words seemed to dissipate his com- 
rade's fears and excite his sympathy, for he made a sudden 
spring from his perch, and clasping the other about the 
abdomen, they swung together clear of the tree, bringing 
themselves halfway to the ground by the sudden jerk of 
their double weight. 

' ‘Ballast, Sam! Out with it, or they’ll have us to the 
ground!” bawled the professor, and as Sam promptly heaved 
over a heavy sand-sack the balloon quickly arose, carrying 
up the two Indians with it far from the surface of mother 
earth. 

“This is right jolly sport ” said Sam, looking over the 
side and laughing most heartily. 

“Yes, funny— much funny,” said little Fayaway, also 
looking over — with less of real amusement than horror, be 
it recorded to her credit — with her hand laid upon her lov- 
er’s arm. 

“How strikingly do such simple spectacles as these bring 
home to us the fallacy of human hopes, and the uncertainty, 
the unreality of this" fleeting dream which we call human 
life/’ calmly philosophized the crack-brained professor, as 
he blandly flxed his eyes upon the struggling forms below. 
“This is truly an interesting and instructive study.” 

“P’raps it" is,” said Sam, dryly; “but you won’t be able 
to study the lower cuss long, fur he can’t get a fair hold on 
account of the tar, an’ I take it he’s slowly slippin’ off.” 

“I trust he will stick until we can cross the mountain to 
the Indian encampment,” said the other, beginning to work 
away at the fan-wheel again. “I want to drop these fellows 
as presents to Firefoot. Must we go higher up for wind? 
No; there’s a little breeze now.” 

There came, indeed, a little puff of wind, and with the 
aid of this and the great fan-wheel, the great balloon began 
to career northward at a few thousand feet above the earth. 

“Ain’t you afeard we’ll scrape them fellows against the 
mountain?” said Sam. 


60 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


said Max, putting his telescope to his eye, and sur- 
veying the mountain they were, approaching; ^‘they will 
swing clear of it fully a hundred feet, if I am not greatly 
mistaken. Ha! I see more of the wigwams on the other side 
now. There must be a dozen or more in the encampment.^' 

The lowermost Indian still hung on to his companion, but 
evidently with the utmost difficulty, for every moment he 
made frantic efforts to crawl up his tarry legs. 

As both of them continued to yell at the top of their 
voices, they soon attracted the attention of those in the 
lodges, who came swarming out and looking up in the ut- 
most consternation. 

^‘Let 'em down easy,^^ suggested Sam. ‘^AVe’ve scared 
these poor devils enough without breaking their necks. 

^^All right,^' said the other; ‘^^though it^s the first time I 
ever heard you express any sympathy for a redskin. 

As they neared the earth the undermost Indian slipped 
from his hold on his companion’s legs and fell, striking on 
the side of one of the lodges and bounding ofi and rolling 
among his brethren, with a terrific whoop. 

^‘Ho bones broken,” remarked the professor. ^^How, Sam, 
we must try and jerk the grapnel loose from this other fel- 
low. Haul him up a part of the way and then let him drop 
with a sudden plunge.'’ 

Sam did as he was requested. The third attempt was 
successful, the belt giving way and precipitating the redskin 
down among the lodges. There was a general commotion 
as this startling apparition arose to his feet among them, in 
his tarry and feathery dress, and the Indians, young and 
old, could be observed running in every direction as though 
frightened out of their wits. 

‘"But still I see no signs of Firefoot having a residence in 
that camp, and it is growing toward nightfall,” said the 
professor, in a tone of disappointment. 

“Hadn’t we better camp out somewhere for the night?’' 
said Sam. “It won’t do to sleep all night in the balloon.” 

“I have passed many and many a night ere this dozing 
away in the airy solitudes,” said old Max, with a pitying 
smile. “AVhen, my dear boy, I crossed the icy barriers of 
the Antarctic Ocean, in 1853, I ” 

“Oh, give that a rest for the present,” said Sam, a little 
peevishly. “What are we to do about passing this night? 
That’s what I want to know.” 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


61 


was at first going to propose/^ said the old man, not in 
the least ofl'ended, “^that we seek some solitary place, cast 
anchor in a tree-top, and pass the night in the car; but, 
aside from the possibility of a storm arising during our 
slumber, and tearing our balloon to ribbons, there remains 
the objection that the gas in the bag would be so far ex- 
hausted ten or twelve hours hence as to render it doubtful 
whether it could buoy us over the mountains again. So I 
think it advisable to sail fifty miles farther, over the moun- 
tains there to the northwest, where there is another canon 
affording a plentiful supply of carbureted hydrogen gas, and 
where we can pass an uninterrupted night, and replenish 
the balloon in the morning. Bear a hand now, and chuck 
over some ballast. There^s been a darned sight too much 
gab and too little work during the past ten minutes. 

Sam proceeded to heave over some of the sacks, grum- 
bling, in the meantime, that most of the ^^gab^^ complained 
of had been performed by the professor himself. 

In about three-quarters of an hour they had sailed over 
the mountains and landed on the canon indicated, the dis- 
agreeable smell of whose rising gases long before they ap- 
proached it had testified to the truth of the aeronaut’s state- 
ment concerning its chemical properties. 

But the sun had not yet altogether disappeared behind 
the peaks when they settled down in a delightful little green 
spot at the upper end of the valley. 

A pleasant little brook of pure, sweet water bubbled 
through its center. Fayaway had soon another appetizing 
meal of broiled venison ready, and here they prepared to 
pass the night, after securely anchoring the balloon. 

^‘What’s in that box?’^ asked Sam, giving a certain box a 
kick as he was tossing the blankets and other wraps out of 
the car! 

Themes fireworks and other traps I thought we might 
find use for,"" replied the White Hermit. ^'They"re some of 
the few relics of my past renown, when all the scientific 
vorld was at my feet. Ah! I distinctly remember one occa- 
sion, when I was crossing the icy barriers of the great Ant- 
arctic Ocean "" 

But Sam at this moment appeared to descry a bear in the 
distance, and ran off, so that the poor professor’s wonderful 
story still remained, per force, in an unfinished condition. 


62 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM- 


CHAPTER VIIL 

THE MUD VOLCANO — A WONDERFUL MAGNET. 

These rock-ribbed walls that from foemen defend us, 

These purple-piled peaks and chasms stupendous, 

Have quivered ere this at the earthquake’s tread; 

And still beneath us those forces unquiet 
Mutter at times of the olden riot, 

Till the brain grows dizzy with horror and dread, 

Lest again from their fastness the fires should burst. 

To rend and destroy as they did at the first. 

On the morning after the air-voyagers had made their 
camp in the strange canon, Rocky Mountain Sam was 
awakened just about daylight by the sound of a dreadful 
explosion, and sprang to his feet, rubbing liis eyes and 
striving to collect his slumber-shrouded thoughts. 

At the same moment Eayaway — probably awakened by 
the same startling sound — came running from behind the 
screening blanket which had been hung up to afford her 
more privacy in passing the night. 

What had happened? 

There lay the balloon, fiat and lifeless, upon the ground, 
with its last remnant of gas evaporated, and they noted with 
considerable alarm that their companion had already arisen 
from his couch of blankets and skins, and was nowhere to 
be seen. 

Pretty soon, hoAvever, they observed him coming toward 
them through the uncertain haze of the early morning, 
which was rendered doubly obscure by tbe steady vaporings 
of the numerous volcanic crevices which seamed the upper 
floor of the little canon, while, ever and anon, there came to 
their ears a dull, looming, reverberating sound, as of sub- 
terranean thunder, and Sam was not sure that he did not 
feel the solid ground quivering and waving under his feet. 
The presence of the professor speedily explained all. 

^'AhT' said he, rubbing his hands in the cold-blooded 
ghastly way he had of expressing a philosopher’s satisfaction; 
‘^the noise of that explosion has routed you both out I see. 
Ho you know what has happened?’^ 


ROCKl'^ MOUNTAIN SAM. 63 

^^No; unless the devil wants his breakfast, and is kicking 
up a muss under ground.'’^ 

neiu mud volcano has just hursted through the>crust !” 
exclaimed the professor, joyously. 

^‘You don’t say so? Jist like the one in your canon?” 

“Yes, only ten times more powerful and grand. Ah! 
my young friend, you probably behold in me the only 
mortal to whom nature has vouchsafed to reveal the actual 
birth of one of her most remarkable and terrific phenomena. 
But let us refill our balloon at one of these carbureted gas- 
jets at once while Faya way is preparing us some breakfast. 
Then I will take you up to see the volcano. It will serve 
one good end, at any rate, in freeing this valley of panthers, 
I saw upward of a dozen of them prowling around on the 
edge of the woods up there this morning.” 

“What! Painters?” exclaimed Sam, seizing his rifle with 
a hunter’s enthusiasm. 

“Be easy! Work first, play afterward.” 

They soon succeeded in dragging the neck of the balloon 
over one of the gas-emitting holes, and by the time the sun 
put in an appearance above the Sierras the vast and buoyant 
sphere, finely distended, was tugging and dragging away at 
its anchors like a proud falcon impatient to be free. 

They speedily ate the excellent repast which little Fay- 
away had, in the meantime prepared for them, repacked the 
car, making everything in readiness for a start at the earliest 
notice, and then piloted by old Max, set out to visit the 
new wonder, Sam being armed to the teeth and Fayaway 
following a little timidly in his rear. 

They picked their way cautiously over fissure-seamed 
ground, which was almost white and thickly crusted with 
sulphur and alkaline deposits, at times almost stifled by the 
effluvia of the escaping gases, while the thundering under- 
ground reverberations grew louder and louder as they ad- 
vanced. 

“There it is! Y'ou can see the top of the fountain just 
beyond that big rock,” sang out the professor, and then, 
just as they turned the angle of the big rock in question the 
view of the mud-volcano burst upon them in all its awful 
grandeur. 

Although the eruption had begun in smooth and there- 
tofore unbroken soil, and had been in operation only a few 
hours, a considerable crater had been worn by the immense 


64 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


volume of mud, water, and stones which were hurled up to 
a height of fully four hundred feet, the accumulating de- 
posits forming a mound around the aperture about ten feet 
high, which was, of course, momently growing in height 
and extent. The discharge of mud and water appeared to 
be unattended by noise, but the appearance in the fountain 
of rocks and stones was attended simultaneously, or directly 
preceded, by the underground rumbling, occasioned by a 
perceptible tremor of the earth all around the crater. 

‘ ‘There ejaculated the professor, taking off his candle- 
snuffer of a cap, and making a grand flourish to the ele- 
ments at large: “behold great Nature in her agonizing 
throes. Is it not glorious— superb?’^ 

“I reckon it is,'''’ observed Sam, “only I don^t think it 
fair to intrude upon the old girl's privacy in such delicate 
moments. Let us all slope and give her full swing — all to 
herself. This ground's a little too shaky for comfort, I say." 

As for little Fayaway, thoroughly frightened, she clung 
to her protector and began to cry. 

“There's no danger," remarked old Max, calmly, “for the 
volcanic forces have found vent and expenditure in this 
eruption. Had it not been for that, however, we should 
probably have all been destroyed in a terrible convulsion. 
Ha! there goes one of the panthers I was speaking of," he 
added, pointing to the edge of a thickly-wooded spur only 
a few yards away, along which a dark object appeared to be 
skulking. 

Sam drew a bead at once, and flred. The shot was fol- 
lowed by a yell of pain, then all was silent as before, except 
the churning, pumping sound made by the volcano. 

“Load again before you advance!'' cried Max, as Sam, 
with his blood thoroughly aroused, drew knife and revolver, 
preparatory to running up. “I tell you there's a regular 
nest of 'em over there." 

Sam quickly reloaded ; he carried a splendid breech-loader; 
the professor also drew his pistol, and together they 
cautiously approached the belt of timber. 

A pair of wild, flery eyes were seen rolling about in the 
semi-gloom of the thicket like globes of red-hot coals, and 
our hero at once took aim between them and flred. 

Another yell, and this time the wounded animal— a female 
panther of vast proportions— leaped out of the cover fol- 
lowed by two cubs about half-grown. 


65 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

Fayawaf gave a little scream and sprang behind her lover 
for protection, while even the imperturbable old balloonist 
dropped a little behind, pistol in hand. Sam, as, cool as a 
cucumber, had his breech-loader recharged in an instant, 
ready to meet the threatened onset of the she panther; but 
before he could bring it fairly to his shoulder, the panther 
that he had first wounded, and which proved to be the mate 
of the other, sprang out of the thicket and also made at 
him, though limping badly, and with the blood trickling 
from a ragged wound in the flank. 

But, as this one seemed to be the least disabled of the 
two, Sam let him have the other bullet in the breast, and 
then, clubbing his rifle — he had no time to draw his knife 
or revolver — met the charge of the other. 

^^Finish that he onel^Mie sung out, seeing by a side 
glance that the male panther was only more desperately 
wounded and' still dangerous. ^‘^Fll take care of the old 
girl."" 

The professor advanced as near as he dared, and began 
pouring into the wounded brute shot after shot from his 
revolver, while Fayaway, scooping up handfuls of the white 
alkaline deposits, hurled them in his eyes. The panther 
speedily succumbed under this combined attack. 

When his assailants were at liberty to turn their attention 
elsewhere, they saw the female panther slowly retreating, 
tail foremost, toward the volcano, while Sam was raining 
blow after blow upon her angry face with the heavy butt of 
his rifle. The cubs, scarcely old enough to risk an attack, 
and yet profoundly affected at witnessing the vigorous pun- 
ishment their mother was receiving, whined piteously, and 
'ran in and out between the hunter"s legs, endeavoring to 
trip him from his foothold. 

“Knock over them cubs!"’ bawled Sam. “Knock ’em 

over, an" in three minutes Fll force the old gal right into 
the volcaner."" 

The professor at once picked up a huge stone and knocked 
one of the cubs senseless with it; and, Fayaway having 
blinded the other in the same way she had served thefather, 
it was also speedily reduced to helplessness. 

In the meantime, Sam had crowded the mother so near 
to the mud volcano that some of its unclean volume was be- 
ginning to fall and splatter all around them. At last, gath- 


66 


ROOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


ering np all his energies fora grand coup, the hunter struck 
her between the eyes with tremendous force. 

Thoroughly blinded, and now completely cowed, the pan- 
theress turned tail, and, unconscious of her whereabouts, 
sprang directly over the terrible geyser. In an instant the 
strong, thick stream carried her up to a height of many hun- 
dred feet, and there she remained tossing up and down and 
bobbing about on the verv summit of the boiling columns — 
very much as a gilded ball is kept in air by a perpendicular 
fountain-jet in one of our public squares — at the same time 
giving utterance to the most unearthly yells. 

^^Well, that^s the worst I ever see yet!^’ said Sam, breath- 
ing hard after his fight and looking up in astonishment at 
the unique position in .which his whilom adversary was 
placed, or, rather, in which she was constantly changing in 
the influence of the eccentric stream that kept her buoyed 
to the dizzy height. 

A most interesting phenomenon commented the pro- 
fessor^ philosophically; while the Indian maiden held up her 
hands in undisguised amazement. 

The muddy water composing, for the greater part of the * 
time, the volcanic fountain was hardly hot enough to scald 
the luckless animal, though evidently of sufficient warmth 
to occasion lier serious inconvenience, judging by her con- 
tinuous cries; and, now and then, when heavy stones went 
shooting up through the mass, she received some pretty 
hard knocks. 

At last, when she had been kept aloft for several minutes, 
a light wind disturbed the equipoise, and she came down, 
altogether limp and disabled, at the feet of her conquerors, 
where a single shot was sufficient to put an end to her suffer- 
ings. 

'‘The cubs is beginnin’ to stir again,"" said Sam, drawing 
his revolver preparatory to sending them after their parents, 
when old Max stayed his hands. 

“Stop!’" he cried. “I have a plan by which we can make 
abetter use of the young panthers alive than dead."" 

He drew a long, stout cord from the folds of his flowing 
robe, and with it speedily secured and fettered the limbs of 
the cubs before they had fully recovered from the stunning 
effects of the blows they had received. 

“There! now let’s drag them off at once and fasten 
them to the car of the balloon,"" said he, with a chuckle of 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 67 

self-satisf auction. ^‘We"ve already wasted too much time, 
and must be olf.'’^ 

They retraced their steps, dragging their whining captives 
with them, and in less than twenty minutes were high -in 
the air, with the cubs dangling below the car, firmly secured 
by the scruff of the neck, but otherwise at liberty, and paw- 
ing and kicking at the empty air. 

They had to rise to a considerable height to get any wind, 
but soon caught a fair current, and, in about an hour, were 
wafted over the. same encampment they had so much dis- 
turbed on the preceding evening by dropping the tarred and 
feathered hero and his companion in its midst. 

As luck would have it, the weather was very much the 
same as on the preceding day. That is, upon approaching 
the earth, they found themselves becalmed in a perfectly 
quiet atmosphere, while below them the glimpses of the earth 
were frequently obscured by a thin stratum of fleecy cloud 
that drifted slowly underneath, impelled by a sluggish cur- 
rent of air in motion comparatively near the surface. 

^^Still no sign of Firefoot and his captain, or of our friends 
to the rescue,'^ muttered the White Hermit, who, with his 
telescope to his eye, was leaning over the car, taking advan- 
tage of every rift in the cloud-rack" below and around them. 

‘‘No; but where the dog is the master canT be far off!^^ 
eagerly exclaimed Sam, also peering over. “^T’d a sworn I 
jist seed that mean loafer. Rube Tenyck, down there a 
minute ago. Wait, now, till that cloud passes. Yes, by 
hooky! that’s him along with that bunch of redskins near 
that biggest wigwam there. 

‘Wouh’e right r’ said the professor, directing his scrutiny 
below. ‘Ht is he.'’^ 

^AVait!’"’ said Sam. ^Tve been aching to get even with 
that rooster long enough.^^ 

Stooping to the bottom of the car he picked up a cake of 
mud, which had fallen into it from the volcano while they 
were making their ascent from the canon, about as big as a 
lager beer keg, and after kneeding some more water with it 
to" make it softer, watched his opportunity from the edge of 
the car, and just as the intervening cloud rolled away for an 
instant, let it drop. 

The reeking mass fell full upon the cranium of the de- 
voted Rube, squashing and settling around it on every side, 
after the manner of the russet hood of an old-time friar, 


68 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


and half stifling his startled yells of consternation/ as he and 
his companions looked aloft, whence, of course, they could 
obtain no explanation 'of the phenomenon, inasmuch as the 
clouds had again drifted between the balloon and the earth. 

‘^Hooray! hooray!^' shouted Sam, convulsed with laughter, 
in which Fayaway heartily joined; even the professor deign- 
ing to add one of his spectral smiles to the general mirth. 

‘^Wait a moment, and see what takes place,^^ said the 
latter; ‘^^and we may treat them to a little tiger-cat by way 
of variety. Sam, draw up one of the varmints, and be pre- 
pared to take the hooks out of his neck when I see proper 
to give the word."” 

When another rift in the cloud appeared, Eube Tenyck 
was observed to begetting rid of his muddy hood by the' 
assistance of his friends, while a large number of Indians 
— young and old, warrior and squaw — had come out of the 
wigwams, and were clustered around them, keeping up an 
incessant chatter as they did so. 

Suddenly there was a rush and a squall over their heads; 
something struck against the branches of the tree near which 
they were standing, and the next instant a half-grown 
panther was precipitated in their midst, striking out wildly 
as he descended, and nearly tearing the leggings, otf two or 
three warriors before he was dispatched. - 

They had hardly time to breathe after this visitation be- 
fore there was another yell, and another panther — this time 
falling unobstructedly direct from the clouds above — came 
tumbling down, making sad havoc with feathered ornaments 
and war-paint in his descent. 

A chorus of cries was set up by the awe-stricken savages, 
accompanied by excited gesticulations, when the second 
brute was disposed of, and every one seemed to be vocifera- 
ting questions to his next neighbor, without troubling him- 
self for an answer; but their enthusiasm was speedily 
damped by about a barrelful of cold water being suddenly 
emptied upon them from above, and drenching them to tlm 
skin. ' ^ 

The majority of them were now thoroughly beside them- 
selves, and made no doubt that they were really the victims 
of witchcraft. The squaws ran about in an aimless way, 
with their babies in their arms, shrieking and tearing their 
hair; many of the -warriors fell upon their knees, with up- 
lifted hands and chattering teeth; and others grouped 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


69 


sliiveringly together in stupid amazement, like children in a 
haunted churcliyard. 

Their chieftain seemed to be the only one who did not 
altogether lose his presence of mind. He was a lynx-eyed, 
dapper little redskin, who had for several days excited the 
envy of his fellows and the admiration of his squaws by 
stalking about in a pair of immense hob-nailed cavalry 
boots, of which he had robbed some poor miner slain in the 
recent fight at Chapman’s Ranch. He now went stumping 
and stalking among his terror-stricken braves, exhorting 
them to fresh courage, cuffing their ears, and now and then 
bestowing upon them hearty kicks with his heavily-shod 
feet. 

But the conceit was suddenly taken even out of him by a 
large mud ball, dextrously dropped, taking him in the top 
of the head, and knocking the eagle feathers in his head- 
dress over his eyes. 

Almost at the same instant the clouds rolled apart, reveal- 
ing to all the dreaded Booglebooby, or Wind Specter, 
directly over their heads, and rapidly descending toward 
them. 

The savages redoubled their yells, and most of them 
groveled in the dust before the appalling apparition. Even 
the chieftain^s courage oozed out at his fingers’ ends, and 
he threw himself prostrate upon his face, clutching at the 
scant herbage with his hands, and kicking up his hob-nailed 
boot-soles in an agony of terror. 

‘•'Easy now! let her doAvn easy, Sam!” said the White 
Hermit; “and, Fayaway, do you hand me that magnet 
attached to the end of that long pole — that’s it, the thing 
that look’s like a horse-shoe. I am about trying an experi- 
ment that has been developing in my massive brain for 
many and many a day. Easy now, and stand by the sand- 
bags. ” 

The balloon slowly swooped down, and as it did so the 
professor took from the Indian maiden’s hands a long, stout 
pole, on the end of which was securely fastened an enormous 
horse-shoe magnet about two and a half feet in diameter, 
and probably possessing sufficient power to drag the spikes 
and rivets out of the timbers of a line of battle ship. 

As the car swung down to within a few feet of the ground, 
he leaned over, and skillfully applied the niagnetto the hob 
nails on the soles of the luckless Indian’s boots. They, of 


70 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


course adhered at once to the instrument, and the next in- 
stant their owner was hanging head downward, roaring for 
help, and in vain endeavoring to release his feet from their 
novel imprisonment. 

‘"Ballast out, Sam! chuck it out! I’ve got the fellow 
deader’n pizoii!”sung out the old man, at the same time 
lashing the pole fast. 

But Sam had forgotten all about ballast, balloon, and 
pretty much everything else in the supreme excitement of 
the moment, and was leaning over the side of the car, with 
a grappling-iron hanging from each hand, upon one of 
which he had just clawed up a young squaw, baby and all, 
by the nape of the neck, while with the other he was 
cautiously angling to catch Rube Tenyck by the seat of his 
buckskin breeches. 

At last he succeeded, just as the professor, aided by little 
Rayaway, began to heave over the ballast, and the balloon 
trembled on the rise. 

But ere they bade farewell to the earth, and while the 
savages were gazing in stupid terror and amazement at the 
captives thus made fast to the war-car of the Wind Specter, 
but more especially at the novel and inexplicable manner in 
which their luckless leader had been scooped up by the 
boot-soles, another phenomenon occurred, which astonished 
the aeronauts themselves almost as much as the Indians. 

All those steel and iron instruments within a circle of 
tiventy-five or thirty feet of the great magnet began to feel 
the influence of its tremendous attraction. 

The few guns that were standing near leaped from their 
places and froze to the sides of the magnet, as if by magic; 
hunting-knives leaped from their sheaths, and hatchets 
from their belts, and, flying through the air at the immi- 
nent peril of their owners’ heads, clustered around the giant 
horseshoe like wild bees on a hickory branch; and even a 
stew pan, that was slowly simmering over a neighboring 
fire, emptied its contents on the hissing coals and flew up 
to take its dangling position above ' the up-turned cavalry 
boots. 

Thus wonderfully laden, the balloon struggled aloft, Sam 
making the two grapnels fast to the side of the car, and the 
professor and Fayaway throwing out the ballast with all 
their might. 

It would be next to impossible to describe the excitement 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


71 


of the savage spectators of these remarkable events. If any 
doubts had theretofore existed in their benighted minds 
concerning the supernatural powers of the White Hermit 
and bis terrible Wind Specter, they were now forever dis- 
sipated. 

After stupidly gazing aloft for some time, their super- 
stitious terrors at last assumed a maniacal or idiotic form of 
demonstration, and they began to hop around in a sort of 
bng-a-boo dance, yelling and shrieking at the top of their 
lungs, and crying out at intervals, ‘^Booglebooby ! Boogie- 
booby T’ when one of their number would drop^ upon the 
ground and roll about in the dust, tearing up the grass 
tufts, and foaming at the mouth. 

^‘No more ballast at present!^' cried the professor, rub- 
bing his hands. tAVeare already rising rapidly enough.'’^ 


CHAPTER IX. 

THE SPOILER TRACKED AT LAST. 

The war-song dies on the Indian’s tongue, 

His dusky cheek through its war-paint pales, 

As, bj- the fierce tempest urged along, 

The Wind Specter sails, 

And glowering over his thunder-car. 

The White Hermit hurls his curse afar. 

^^Well, now, this is the worst I ever did said Sam, 
looking over the car, with a serene smile. ^^Rube, my boy, 
how do you like it down there 

Rube Tenyck, who had twisted himself around and 
grasped the rope, so as to look up at the car, only replied 
by a feeble cry and a horrible'grin. Before he could make 
any other intelligible reply he brushed against the topmost 
branches of a lofty tree, and, clutching at the branches, 
liung on till the grapnel tore from its fastenings in the 
breech, and let him go crashing down through the foliage. 
But he reappeared upon the ground a moment later, more 
frightened than hurt. 

""‘Now, professor,'" said Sam, to whom little Fayaway had 
been earnestly and pleadingly whispering, “had we not 
better have this poor squaw on board with her young "un? 
She’s in a devilish uncomfortable position, and may give 


72 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


ns some information ^bout Bob Scarlet an^ the Prairie Blos- 
som, you know.^^ 

Old Max, who had been contemplating the magnet and 
its victim with the cool enjoyment of a philosopher, as- 
sented to this proposition in an absent way, and then re- 
sumed his study. So Kocky Alountain Sam, with the as- 
sistance of the Indian maiden, drew up the squaw, Avho 
was at first greatly frightened, but was soon quieted by 
Fayaway, wlio at once began to play with the baby with 
girlish delight. 

‘'What a remarkable study is here!” said the professor, 
speaking 'more to himself than otherwise. ' "The subtle yet 
terrible power of the loadstone still keeps the boot soles of 
the unfortunate aborigine glued to its extremities, and the 
iron implements, obedient to the same natural laws of at- 
traction, still adhere to its edges with wonderful tenacity. 
This is certainly the most powerfurmagnet I have ever yet 
succeeding in constructing out of the loadstone masses 
which occur so prolifically on the western wall of my 
canon, and its adhesive properties show no signs of dimu- 
nition, notwithstanding the tremendous strain to which 
they are subjected. Wonderful! wonderful!” 

"Yes,” said Sam, relentingly; "but it seems a pity to 
treat even a redskin in such a horrible way. The poor devil 
has stopped squalin\ I suppose it is from a rush of blood 
to the head.” 

"I would release him and let him drop, and so end his 
agony, if I only knew how,” said the other. "But I know 
not how to detach the magnet. We can’t shake him off, 
you know.” 

"Them boots must be a mighty tight fit, or he’d drop out 
of ’em,” said Sam, Hello! what’s up?” 

"Ha!” exclaimed the professor, "the magnet itself is 
solving the difficulty for us. Do you not perceive how?” 

"Why, yes!” cried Sam, "the darned thing is actually 
draivin’ the nails out of the hoot soles, or I’m a canary.” 

It was even as he said. From their position in the car 
they could see the great hob-iiails slowly elongating be- 
tween the extremity of the magnet and the boot soles, as 
they were drawn out of the tough leather; and a moment 
later the form of the luckless savage went plunging down 
through space. 

"He’ll hardly know what hurt him. The fall is a little 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


73 


more than a mile and a half/'’ observed the professor, cheer- 
fiilly. 

‘‘Yes/'’ assented the hunter; ^^an^ them hoots woidt he 
worth much to whoever robs the body. Why, darn your 
old magnet, professor! My knife and pistol are try in’ to 
jump ou^ of my belt to freeze to it.” 

This last exclamation was caused by old Max dragging up 
the magnet, with all its appurtenances. 

^^You will find a heavy crowbar lying at your feet,” said 
the other, calmly. ^^Apply that to the poles of the magnet, 
and it will so appropriate its attractive power as to preclude 
its inconveniencing us. It was in that way, if you remem- 
ber, that I nullified its influence when I first placed it in 
the balloon.” 

Sam did as he was instructed. The crowbar flew up 
against the magnet with a sharp clang, and then they pro- 
ceeded, not without considerable difficulty in detaching the 
various articles still adhering to it. 

‘^Six guns in pretty good condition,” inventoried Sam, 
nine hunting knives, a trifle rusty, twelve tomahawks, and 
a powder-flask, without mentionin’ one stew-pan an’ a hand- 
ful of shoe-nails. Bather good for a single haul, if I say it 
as oughtn’t to.” 

^^Yes,” said the professor, reflectively; ^ffiut we’ve de- 
voted too much time to scientific experiments — useful as 
they may stand the world in the future — and should now 
think about business. Suppose Fayaway begins to pump 
the heathen woman for information. Ah, this experiment 
of the magnet reminds me of a range of mountains com- 
posed entirely of loadstone which I encountered in crossing 
the icy barriers of the great Antarctic Ocean in the year 

1824. You see, my boy ” 

fascinatin’ history will keep till we git down, pro- 
fessor,” interrupted Sam. ^'Give Fayaway a chance to talk 
with the squaw.” 

So great was the terror of the Indian woman at her posi- 
tion that it was some time before Faya way could get any- 
thing out of her. At last, however, she succeeded in con- 
vincing her that, though the Booglebooby was a super- 
natural machine, and the White Hermit one of the princi- 
pal agents of the powers of darkness, she,^ Fayaway, and 
Sam were merely mortals on intimate relations with him, 
and that no harip would come to her if she would frankly 


74 BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

tell all she knew ahont the whereabouts of Firefoot and his 
captive. 

At last the squawks tongue was fairly loosed, and she be- 
gan to jabber away at a great rate, at the same time gesti- 
culating wildly, and pointing frequently to the no/th. 

At last they were informed, through Fayavvay’s interpreta- 
tion, that Firefoot was in the camp with his captive, at an 
early hour of the preceding day,* but that be had quitted it 
accompanied by a strong guard, for a certain mountain fast- 
ness of his, beyond and northward of Grizzly Bear Lake. 
They further learned that Miss Chapman, the prisoner,' 
though looking very melancholy, had appeared to be in good 
health, and that the'greatest respect had been shown her by 
both Firefoot and his followers. ' 

Here was news, indeed. 

Sam waved his hat, and shouted in the fullness of his joy, 
while the old aeronaut quietly pulled the throttle valve to 
effect a descent. 

^AVhy, what are you going down for?’^ said Sam. 

^‘In order to deposit this valuable female and her interest- 
ing offspring with tlieir mother earth, was tlie cairn reply. 
*‘She has fully earned her liberty by the importance of the 
information imparted. After that, ho for Grizzly Bear 
Lake!’^ 

The descent was soon effected, and the squaw and baby 
safely deposited upon terra firma, though little Fayaway was 
very loth to part with the chubby papoose, with whom she 
had at once ingratiated herself by her tenderness; and once 
again they were soaring up to catch the northward-flowing 
air current. 

^TFs not more than eighty miles to the northern shore of 
the lake,^^ said the professor, looking over, telescope in hand, 
as the mighty sphere overhead began to snap and eddy in 
the freshening breeze. ^AVith this wind we ought to make it 
in an hour and a half. In the meantime, keep your eyes 
skinned on the country below, for the clouds have almost 
entirely disappeared.^^ 

^^All right, was the reply. ‘^And, Fayaway, added 
Sam, turning his head, ‘^you might as well start a fire in 
the old stove there, an’ get up a venison broil to keep your 
hand in. We’ll be hungry in an hour or two.” 

seem to have a very solicitous and healthy regard 


UOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. fS 

for yonr stomach, my son,’^ observed the old man, rubbing 
the object glass of his telescope with the tail of his coat. 

You bet replied the young hunter, good humored ly. 
^‘Fve always found I could fight, hunt, or work better on a 
full stomach than an empty one. I’ve a clear conscience, 
and a high old appetite; and only give me plenty to eat, and 
ril show you something for it. Oh, Fve stood hunger and 
hardship as much as any man in these parts, and the 
memory of it only increases my appreciation for a square 
meal. 

“Tut, tut!^^ said the professor, conceitedly; ^^you, my 
son, can hardly know what it is to suffer the pangs of 
hunger. Why, wdien I was crossing the icy barriers of the 
great Antarctic Ocean, in 1846, just after my passage over the 
unexplored regions of Central Africa, and the discovery of 
the source of the Nile, I was so hungry 

^^Hallo! What is that down there? An Injun ?^’ inter- 
rupted Sam, pointing below. 

“There is nothing there, my son,” said old Max, after 
leveling his telescope to the spot indicated. 

“I see there isAt notv.’^ 

“Well, as I was saying, my son, after crossing the icy 
barriers of the great Antarctic Ocean in 1852 ” 

“The lake! the lake!” bawled Sam, stretching his neck over 
the side of the car, and rejoicing at any opportunity to 
choke off the good old man’s interminable yarn. “There’s 
Grizzly Bear Lake, or I’m a heathen!” 

“Sure enough!” exclaimed the other, forgetting all about 
his story, as the waters of the lake dawned into view upon 
the gray horizon line in a narrow strip of ultramarine. 

In a few moments they were sailing serenely over the lake, 
which is a beautiful and pellucid, body of water, about ten 
miles long and wide, and situated perhaps twenty miles 
north of Crown Butte, and not far from the Teton Eiver, 
a bright little tributary of the Missouri. 

“The lake’s alive with salmon and trout,” said Sam, re- 
flectively. “If we only had a seine we might scoop up a 
nice mess, to help Fayaway out with our grub.” 

“Don’t you know that I never go on an extensive expe- 
dition without providing myself with such things?” said old 
Max, somewhat severely. “You will find a splendid seine 
right behind that box of fireworks there. But it is not 
necessary to use it at present. I see a number of savages 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


'?6 

spearing fish from their canoes; we may want to bedevil 
them a little at the start/^ 

'‘ Just the thing, by crimininy said Sam. "Lower away 
a little, and Fll try to grapple one of their canoes.” 

The old man drew the throttle-valve gently, and the bal- 
loon settled down so softly over the surface of the lake that 
the Indian fishermen, busily engaged in taking fish, had no 
notice of its approach, until Sam had made a gTapnel fast 
to the prow of one of the canoes. The professor at the same 
time seized the rudder-crank and turned the great fan- 
wheel as fast as he could; the balloon swept over the water 
with its car almost touching the surface, at railroad speed, 
dragging the canoe .and its occupants — three in number — 
after it with such rapidity as to almost bury it in the waves, 
while the Indians fell upon their knees and set up a doleful 
howl. 

Their companions in the other canoes, after gazing for 
some time in a sort of stupor at the fate that had overtaken 
their fellows, suddenly sprang overboard with a panic- 
stricken yell, and began to strike out for the shore. The 
others soon afterward following their example, Sam loosened 
his hold on the canoe and allowed it to drift, bottom up- 
ward. 

"Now, Sam, out with that net!” cried the professor. ‘T 
see an Indian village on the farther shore, and we’ll furnish 
them with a surprise, beside getting a mess for ourselves.’^ 

Sam had out the net — a large two-handed affair — in a 
jiffy; Max took hold of the lines connected Avith one end, 
he of the other, and they made their cast just as the balloon 
swooped down, almost dragging the car along the surface. 

"Throw out some' ballast, Fayaway!” cried Sam; "or the 
TV'eight of the seine Avill swamp us.” 

Fayaway dropped her cooking at once to do as she was 
bid, and looking over the side as the balloon tugged and 
struggled aloft, she uttered a cry of delight at the appear- 
ance of the seine, whose ends Sam and Max Avere busily 
making fast to the side of the car. 

They had evidently, by the merest chance in the Avorld, 
made their cast in tlie midst of a dense school of fine fish, 
and the seine was literally packed solid with silver backs 
and golden fins. 

"Three hundred weight, if there^s an ounce,” said the 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 77 

professor, coolly. ^^Sam, pick out what you want for grub, 
and let us waste no time in disposing of the rest.’’"’ 

‘‘Not so easy to make a choice as it looks,^’ said Sam, 
leaning over, hook in hand, and feeling discrimiiiately 
among the glittering and struggling masses. 

At last, however, he fished a large, plump salmon and a 
couple of fine trout, which he handed over to Fayaway. 

“Now take hold of the end of the seine and be ready to 
flop it inside out the moment we get over yon village, cried 
the professor. 

“Ay, ay cried Sam. 

The inhabitants of the little Indian fishing village had 
witnessed the catastrophe which had overtaken the canoe- 
men, most of whom had by this time succeeded in reaching 
the shore, and were now crowded upon the sandy beach 
looking, in awe-stricken wonder, upon the Wind-Specter, 
which many of them now beheld for the first time. 

“Steady now, till we get directly overhead P sang out the 
professor, as the balloon moved gracefully along at a height 
of two or three hundred feet. “Now, then flop her over!^^ 

They gave a simultaneous jerk at either end of the seine, 
turning it completely inside out and emptying its finny con- 
tents upon the heads of the astonished aborigines, who had 
probably never received fish in that manner before; but they 
made all haste to avail themselves of the bounty afforded 
them, and could be seen running about in every direction, 
young and old, picking up the fish. 

“Well, they can't say we havenT paid them well for the 
bit of entertainment they afforded us in their canoes,” said 
Max. “The whole tribe wouldnT be able to spear that 
many fish in a whole season. Now, Sam, weTl pause up 
here in this quiet atmosphere, paltake of our grub, and 
keep a sharp eye below at the same time.'’^ 

Fayaway had cooked the fish to a turn^ and these, together 
with the venison and biscuits, made as hearty and whole- 
some a repast as the most fastidious could desire. 

While Sam and his sweetheart ate heartily and took their 
time about it, old Max hurried through with his meal and 
speedily restationed himself at the side of the car, telescope 
in hand. 

Presently a loud exclamation from him caused the others 
to turn toward him. 

“What s up?'’ cried Sam, with his mouth full of lake fish. 


78 EOCKY MOUNTAIN SA:M. 

"'Has another volcaner busted or a sutler’s gin-mill broken 
loose 

""Neither,” replied the professor, quickly recovering bis 
philosophical composure, which he seldom permitted to de- 
sert him for any great length of time; ‘^only there is Fire- 
foot and his whole band riding toward the mountains at the 
top of their speed.” 

‘"No!” cried Sam, springing to his feet — his dinner over 
from that instant — and to the side of the car. ""Holy smoke! 
I believe yoiFre right. There must be fifty on ’em alto- 
gether, an^ see the flutter of a petticoat in the van.'” 

""And, moreover, they us — observe their renewed haste 

and the extravagance of their gestures.” 

""Of course, all we have to do is to swoop down an’ scoop 
^em up.” 

""I don’t know about that,” said the professor, thought- 
fully. ‘"You see, Firefoot hardly shares in the general su- 
perstition concerning the Wind-Specter, and two or three 
bullet-holes through our old gas-bag might play the duse 
with us!” 

""Strange I never thought of that afore,” observed Sam. 
""Why, we’ve been at their mercy at any time if they’d only 
had the pluck to shoot.” 

""Hardly so much at their mercy as you fancy,” said old 
Max. ""You see this balloon is made a good deal after the 
manner of an old-fashioned bed-quilt; that is, the cloth 
is carefully sewed up into small squares and diamonds, so 
that even if it were to receive a bullet hole it could not rip 
for a space of more than a few inches, which would still 
leave us time to drift a considerable distance out of danger, 
even after being disabled. However, we’ll sail up and see 
what can be done. There’s one satisfaction, at any rate. 
We won’t be compelled to retrace our flight, for there’s 
another gas-works existing somewhere up here to the north.” 

As they drew nearer over the heads of the mounted bands 
and cautiously descended closer to' the earth, the greatest 
excitement prevailed in the savage ranks. They could see 
them riding hither and thither, as if thoroughly alarmed, 
while Firefoot dashed among them, gesticulating angrily, 
and probably striving to overcome their terrors, while pretty 
soon they could plainly distinguish the form of Miss Chap- 
man. She was riding a gray pony, and now and then looked 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


79 


aloft and waved her hands, as though to encourage the at- 
tempt to rescue her. 

Fayaway looked over, and as soon as she descried her be- 
loved benefactress, set up a scream of delight. 

‘^Prairie Blossom! Prairie Blossom!"’ she cried, clapping 
her hands; and an answering cry from below told her 
that she was recognized. 

‘‘Hooray!"" shouted Sam, “Let"s pounce right down on 
"em an’ start the fight. All these Injun guns we captured 
are loaded, an" we ourselves are well armed. AVhat d"yesay, 
old man?"" 

“It is worth trying, my son,"" responded the professor, 
seizing the throttle-valve."" 

“Here, Fayaway,"" said Sam, “take one of these shootin" 
irons, and do your best when the time comes. By Jove! 
you are a little trump!"" he added, admiringly, as the young 
girl began to open hostilities by hurling the Indian stew- 
pan at the horsemen"s heads. 

And at this moment there was a shot, and a bullet 
whistled uncomfortably close to their ears. The strange 
battle had already opened. 


CHAPTER X. 

JHE FIGHT FOR THE PRAIRIE BLOSSOM. 

The skirmish hot, the ringing shot, 

The glitter of steel to steel, 

The shriek, the shout, the hurried rout 
As the ranks of the redskins reel ! 

And over all, from its thunder-car, 

The Wind-Ghost flaunting its pennants afar. 

As the balloon came swooping down upon the enemy, 
Firefoot was observed to seize his captive’s bridle-rein, and 
hurry her away into a shallow ravine, thickly overgrown 
with firs and beeches, whence he speedily made his reap- 
pearance to join in the singular combat that had now com- 
menced. 

The occupants of the car had left the savages little time 
to recover from their confusion. 

As they neared the ground Faya way and Sam snatched 
up rifle after rifle from those that had“ been ‘hnagnetized," 


80 ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

and let the redskins have their contents in rapid succession, 
while the professor was doing noble duty with his revolver; 
and half a dozen saddles were emptied at the very outset. 
Then Sam handed the girl his revolver, and seizing his 
faithful breech-loader, kept up the deadly fire almost with- 
out interruption, while the White Hermit having ex- 
hausted the chambers of his revolver, grabbed the crowbar, 
and, leaning out, dealt about him with a vigor that one 
would hardly have supposed his shrunken arms capable of. 

The Indians were at first taken so completely by surprise 
and superstitious fear that they offered but feeble resist- 
ance, and a number of them spurred away from the spot at 
the top of their speed; but Firefoot now rushed among 
them, pistol and knife in either hand. 

‘"Cowards!” he shouted, “wilkyou be vanquished by two 
men and a squaw?^^ 

He aimed a shot at Sam as he spoke, but a sudden flurry 
of the balloon saved our hero’s life, and the next instant 
the edge of the swinging oar struck the renegade along- 
side the head, almost knocking him from the saddle. ^ 

But his fearless example had not been lost upon his fol- 
lowers. 

Bullets and arrows began to hiss and buzz around the 
heads of the devoted trio; the balloon was pierced in more 
places than one, and in a moment a dozen pairs of dusky 
hands seized hold of the side of the car and dragged it down 
almost to the ground* 

“Hands ofi 1” shouted Sam, grasping a hatchet, and be- 
ginning to lop off the hands at the wrists like so many 
radishes, in which he was speedily imitated by Fayaway, 
whose warrior blood was fully aroused, and with her long 
hair loosened in the wind appeared like a beautiful fury, 
while old Alax still laid about him with his crowbar with 
telling effect. 

The mighty balloon tossed and surged about overhead, 
snapping its cordage, and tugging and straining to be free. 

At this moment Firefoot, who had recovered from the 
blow he had received, spurred through the press, knife in 
hand, and with a grin of anticipative triumph upon his 
rugged features. It was only too evident that he intended 
to sever the ropes between the car and the neck of the bal- 
loon and thus have the occupants of the former at his mercy; 
but the AVhite Hermit had divined his diaboUoal intention. 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


81 


'‘Ha! you would, would you?^^ he exclaimed, at the same 
time twirling up his crowbar, and bringing it down with 
tremendous force. 

The renegade swerved aside and avoided the blow, but 
it crushed in his pony’s skull, felling him to the earth, and 
for the moment at least foiling its rider’s design. 

But the car was still down among the rearing horses, the 
strength of its valiant defenders was fast failing, and the gas 
was slowly escaping through the bullet and arrow-holes in 
the sphere. The frightfully unequal contest could not last 
much longer, it was very plain. 

“The magnet, Sam, the magnet! it is our last hope!” 
gasped the professor, staggering back exhausted. 

Sam fired a farewell shot from his breech-loader, clove an 
Indian’s skull with a hatchet, picked up the magnet, and 
swept it out among the crowd like a broom. 

The effect was so wonderful and instantaneous as to sur- 
prise the defenders of the car almost as much as the enemy. 

Guns, knives, and pistols flew from the dusky hands that . 
held them with a series of sharp clangs, adhering to the load- 
stone as if soldered there. The ponies trembled with fright 
as the metallic buckles and mountings on their bridles be- 
gan to jerkin the same direction, causing them to choke and* 
snort as they pulled the other w^ay; and one luckless warrior, 
who wore a necklace of heavy iron beads, found . himself 
suddenly fastened to the magnet with a strength of adhesion 
from which the sudden breaking of the string upon which 
the beads were strung alone released him. Even Firefoot’s 
pistol flew from his belt, and he only retained his hunting- 
knife by grasping it with all his strength and backing out 
of the terrible influence. 

The savages were utterly appalled, and those who had, 
not fallen upon their faces in superstitious horror, took to 
their heels, yelling and shrieking as if all the furies of pan- 
demonium were in their wake. Even their leader — who, 
notwithstanding his generally fair education, knew but 
little of magnetic science, and who certainly had never be- 
fore encountered a loadstone of such extraordinary power — - 
lost his presence of mind temporarily; and seemed be- 
wildered. 

“The ballast, Sam! out with it!” cried the professor^ 
sinking upon a seat almost utterly worn out. 

As Sam and thq girl tlp-ew out the sand-bags, again the 


82 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


balloon, faithful to the last, though ripped and torn in 
many places, bounded aloft, and the car was borne out of 
immediate danger, giving Sam an opportunity to drag in 
the magnet and take a hurried inventory of the numerous 
weapons it had captured. 

They were, however, sweeping along so close to the 
ground as to be in immediate danger of being dashed to 
pieces against the rocks and trees, and the professor had so 
far recovered from his exhaustion as to stoop down and 
begin to heave out more ballast, when a wild shriek from 
below caused them all to spring to the side of the car again. 

The shriek had been given by Miss Chapman, who had 
found her way out of the ravine into which she had been 
thrust out of harm’s way by her captor, and who now stood 
with her fair hair blowing out in the wind, grief and sup- 
plication written painfully upon every lineament of her 
lovely face, and her arms raised appealingly tow’ard them. 

“Do not desert me! Save me! save me! Oh, my friends, 
rescue me!” she cried in piteous accents. 

The professor hesitated. 

“The gas-bag’s too much disabled,” he faltered. “We 
can’t make another descent, and then get otf the ground 
again.” 

“By , we’ll try, though!” cried Sam, with an oath, 

and at the same time jerking the valve, while little Fay- 
away leaned over the side, and cheered her mistress by ten- 
der cries and gestures. 

But as the balloon neared the earth once more, Firefoot, 
with several of his band could be seen spurring toward the 
scene. 

“ISTow, lady, give me your hand, and jump all you know 
howl” cried the professor, leaning over and catching the 
Prairie Blossom by the hand, while Fayaway screamed with 
delight and began to heave out ballast. 

Miss Chapman leaped from the ground, and seized the 
car with her other hand. She was swinging clear of the 
ground, almost beyond the reach of her captors, with her 
white robe fluttering in the wind, when the renegade rode 
up in breathless haste, and succeeded in grasping her flow- 
ing skirts, while two of his followers also leaped from their 
s.addles, and grasped the car to detaiJi it. 

^Tlang on to the lady, professor!’^ bawled Samj ^^I’H take 

ptTO of tliep§ chaps/' 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


83 


He at once brained one of tlie» redskins with the crowbar, 
and then attacked the other, forcing him to relinquish his 
hold. But at this momenta huge fragment of rock, hurled 
by another savage who came riding up, struck the plucky 
old aeronaut in the forehead, knocking him senseless in the 
bottom of the car. Miss Chapman was torn fainting from 
her hold, and the next moment the balloon shot aloft, and 
the desperate effort had proved a failure. 

Sam, iron though he was, sank into a seat almost ex- 
hausted and deadly pale, with the blood trickling down his 
face from two or three slight wounds he had received; while 
little Fayaway buried her face in her hands, and sobbed 
aloud. 

^‘IFs no use,^^ said Sam, hoarsely, and arousing himself 
with an effort. ^‘^We made a bitter fight for it, but luck 
was aghn us. Here, Fayaway,’' he added, throwing himself 
upon his knees and lifting up the head of poor old Max; 
“fetch some water, and let’s see what can be done.” 

Fayaway did as she was ordered, though making no effort 
to restrain her tears; and the professor speedily revived as 
the cooling element was dashed upon his face. He was evi- 
dently not seriously hurt, though bleeding profusely from a 
gash in his forehead, which the girl hastily bound up. 

“Well, my son,” said he, arising with more alacrity than 
might have been expected, “at any rate, we have the satis- 
faction of knowing that we did our best, and no man or 
men can do more than that. How far are we from the 
ground?” 

“Only a few hundred feet,” replied Sam^ looking over. 
“By the holy smoke! there goes the renegade, with the 
Prairie Blossom in tow; an’ he’s mounted on the same Paw- 
nee horse he rode in the battle at Chapman’s Ranch. I 
wonder where he came from. Fayaway, just hand me that 
lariat. We seem to be sinking down whether we will or not; 
and I’m going to make one more effort to win the young 
lady, if it breaks my neck.” 

The professor, alarmed at these words, sprang to the side 
of the car in great haste, and saw that the' balloon was in- 
deed losing gas and settling down rapidly. 

The renegade, who was accompanied by perhaps a dozen 
warriors, as well as his captive, looked up aud shook his fist 
derisively at the disabled balloon. 

lie began to laugh on the other side of his month, how- 


84 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

ever, when Sam suddenly let fly with his lariat, and the rnil- 
ning noose caught him around the body, pinioning his arms 
to his side, and jerking him from the sad<ile in an instant. 
But almost at the same moment one of his followers drew 
his knife and severed the thong above the noose, thus setting 
him free, though considerably the worse for his tumble. 

“It is useless, cried the professor. “It will be all we can 
do to cross the mountains in our 4) resent crippled condition. 
Overboard with all the ballast we have!'" 

It was only too evident that he spoke the truth, for the 
gas-bag was growing flabbier and losing more gas every mo- 
ment; so Sam began to throw over the sand-bags, one after 
another, as fast as he could; while poor little Fayaway again 
sobbed as if her heart would break, as she saw the sad, 
despairing expression of Miss Chapman's upturned face. 

Beside the ballast, they had to throw overboard the car- 
cass of the deer and many of the guns and other weapons 
that had been captured before the disabled balloon was suf- 
ficiently lightened to reach the proper air-current, and then 
they began to drift slowly northward over the mountain 
chain. 

It was the middle of the afternoon before they settled 
down slowly and feebly into the little canon which Max 
had spoken of, and whose supply of gas w^as exceedingly 
limited, comprising only four or five thin jets of vapor, 
which issued faintly enough from as many fissures, and there 
were no traces of mud-volcanoes, geysers, or other evidences 
of violent volcanic action. 

In a few moments the great balloon lay supine and empty 
upon its side; and its ovvner, after going over every square 
foot of it with the utmost care, exclaimed, joyously: 

“Why, there are only half a dozen bullet-holes, Sam; and, 
thanks to the quilting ^Drocess’ of stitching I spoke to you 
of, these are small and can be mended with very little diffi- 
culty. Now, while Fayaway is cooking us something to eat 
I will get my needle and thread, cloth and varnish, and set 
to work at once. You see, we are all so thoroughly used up 
by what we've gone through that we will want a long night's 
rest to recuperate." 

“No meat to cookie," said Faya way. “Deer all gone 
away; dry meat, no more." 

“And I had forgotten that we threw our carcass of ven- 
ison overboard/' said the professor, who was now nosing 


tlOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


as 


around the interior of the car for the articles he stood in 
need of. “No matter; stew np some of the dried meat, then, 
my girl. Gad! we ought to be thankful for even that. Well, 
Sammy, my son, I remember a similar circumstance that 
happened to me in the summer of 1832, when I was crossing 
the icy barriers of the great Antarctic Ocean. You see, I 
had just weathered a mount, and was looking around 
to shoot something with which to satisfy my raging hunger, 
a penguin, polar bear, walrus, or something of that sort, 
when ” 

“I reckon Td better go and hunt up some fresh meat,^^ 
said Sam, picking up his rifle and moving ofl; “I hate dried 
meat, if there’s any fresh to be had. Poor old Max!” he 
added to himself; “I don^t know but what he deserves hav- 
ing his story listened to, after carrying himself so pluck ily 
through the fight; only Pm too tired to be bored, and it 
might set him off on one of his loony fits again.” 

He looked back, and saw the old man speaking very fast 
and earnestly to the Indian girl, who appeared to be listen- 
ing with a very puzzled expression. 

“Poor Fayaway!” he muttered, “iPs hardly fair for the 
old fellow to take out his revenge upon her in that way; but 
luckily she can't understand more than half he says.” 

He soon restored himself to good humor by knocking over 
a jackass-rabbit, as fat as butter, and upon returning with it 
to the little camp, was gratified to find Max busily at work 
mending the balloon, while Fayaway had a fire already 
started. 

“'Which way shall we strike out to-morrow, professor?” 
said Sam, throwing himself at full length upon the ground. 

“To-morrow we must find Big Horn and his party, and 
report what we have seen and done,” was the reply. “They 
cannot be very far distant from Grizzly Bear Lake, I fancy. 
There! the balloon's as good as new.” 

The rabbit-stew, which Faya way had cooked, was soon 
disposed of, and though the sun had scarcely set behind the 
Sierras, they soon rolled themselves up in their blankets and 
lay down to sleep off their great fatigue. 


86 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


CHAPTER XL 

A ITOVEL MODE OF FIGHTIKO A GRIZZLY — BIG HORN 
AGAIN. 

Though rough of mien, hig hunter’s garb 
Covered a breast whose hundred scars 
Were graven o’er a heart as true 
As e’er survived unholy wars; 

And his eye was bright with a kindly light 
When the carnage was over and ceased the fight. 

Our air-voyagers were once more freed from mundane 
trammels the nexh morning before the sun made his appear- 
ance above the mountain range, though some difficulty had 
been experienced in inflating the balloon, owing to the fee- 
bleness of the supply of gas in the canon. 

^^Ah!’* cried the professor, as they rapidly mounted into 
the atmosphere, leaving peak after peak below them; ^^there's 
plenty of life and buoyancy in the old bag yet. She’s as 
good as new.” 

^‘1 say,” said Sam, whose matter-of-fact ideas appeared 
to seldom rise above earthly considerations, ‘‘be on the look- 
out for game, old man! Remember, we’re completely out 
of fresh meat.” 

The professor reared his nose in the air rather contemptu- 
ously, and began to sweep the horizon with the telescope, 
when suddenly Fayaway pointed off with her finger and 
cried out in considerable excitement. 

“Bear — big bear — there! Oh! big bear!” 

•‘So there is,” said Sam, getting a grappling-iron ready 
as he espied the animal referred to — an enormous grizzly 
that was standing upon a broken ridge, curiously watch- 
ing their approach. 

“What are you going to do?” said the professor, some- 
what irritably. “We have work instead of play before us; 
and you know we can’t take that monster aboard.” 

“But we may kill him, and take a good slice of him on 
board,” said Sam, casting his grapnel with such skill that 
it at once took hold in the bear’s left ear, unceremoniously 


EOCKY MOUNTA.IN SAM. 


87 


jerking him upon his hams as the balloon passed on, and 
then paused. 

The bear began to roar, and work himself into a rage 
generally; while Sam, leaning over the side, quickly emptied 
the chambers of his revolver into his carcass, out apparently 
with no other effect than to increase his fury. 

^‘We^ll have to cast anchor in a tree, and then you can 
lower me down to the ground, where I can have a better 
chance at the varmint,'’^ said Sam. havenT tasted 

bear meat for a week, and my mouth is just watering for 
some.'’’ 

The professor acceded to this plan rather reluctantly, 
and muttering between his teeth something about some 
folks always thinking about their stomachs before any- 
thing else, soon made an anchor fast in a stunted pine, 
while Sam, with the Indian girl’s assistance, hastily made 
another line fast under his shoulders, and reloaded "his re- 
volver. 

‘‘Now, let me down easy,” said he clambering over the 
car, with a happy smile on his beardless face, as if he was 
about to take part in a frolic instead of participating 
in a hand-to-hand struggle with one of the most ferocious 
beasts in the world; “and be ready to jerk me up out of 
reach if you see it growing a little hot down there.” 

The car was swinging in the air, about twenty-five feet 
from the ground, and the intrej^id young hunter was 
speedily lowered down. The bear, in the meantime, had 
kept pawing away at his left ear in a vain attempt to de- 
tach it from the grapnel, but no sooner did he see the 
hunter within his reach than he tore himself free, and 
rushed upon him with a furious roar. Sam greeted him 
with a pistol ball in the throat, but the next instant he 
would have been in the brute’s terrible embrace, had not 
his friends suddenly jerked him up out of reach, and over 
the bear’s head, which received another slug just behind the 
ears, before he could wheel his bulky form and renew the 
assault. But again Sam hopped lightly over him, and 
another bullet was buried in his shaggy hide. These tactics 
were repeated so often, that the bear seemed to weaken on 
the leap-frog dodge, and merely reared himself on his 
hams and set up a sort of melancholy roar, at the same time 
rubbing his wounded body as if he had the itch; and etrik- 
ing out aimlessly at tlie empty aii, 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


But Sam’s pistol was by this time empty again, so he re- 
turned it to his belt, and, unsheathing his long hunting- 
knife, made himself ready for close quarters. 

‘"Now, jump me gently over his head,” he sang up to 
his companions, “and be wide awake, or you may get me 
into a scurvy fix.” 

Almost as soon as he had spoken, he found himself lifted 
from his feet, and the next instant, he alighted upon the 
ground, just behind the bear, who narrowly escaped pawing 
him as he flew over his head; and, before he could turn 
around, the hunter’s knife was driven to the hilt behind 
the shoulder. 

Again and again it was driven home, and, with each re- 
peated stroke, Sam was lifted lightly out of harm’s way; 
until bruin could stand it no longer, but at last thundered 
over on his side, and gave up the ghost with an expiring 
groan. 

“His skin is so full of holes that it ain’t worth taking 
off,” said Sam, at once beginning to carve his \vay into 
the great carcass. “But just have a little patience, pro- 
fessor, and ITl have as fine a quarter of bear meat as you 
ever seen.” 

In a short time, he was back in the car, together with 
a splendid quarter of fat flesh, from which Fayaway was 
daintily carving a few steaks to prepare for breakfast; 
and the balloon was again careering through the waves of 
air. 

“Firefoot’s hiding-place must be somewhere among those 
lofty spurs to the north,” said the professor, leveling his 
glass. “But hallo! are those Indians down there to the 
south-east? No; they must be Big Horn and his band.” 

Sam also gave a shout of joy as he, too, was presently 
enabled to discern the distant horsemen, though they were 
so far away, that they appeared like mere insects upon the 
plain. 

“Hurra!” he shouted; “I shall soon clasp honest old Big 
Horn by the fin; and won’t he roll his eyes when he hears 
of the merry time we’ve had? But there’s no use telling 
him; he’ll never believe it.” 

In about half an hour, and after they had made a capital 
breakfast off the bear meat, they were hovering directly 
over the heads of the party, aloud cheer from which an- 
nounced that they were observed; and a little later, they 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


89 


were setting right down among the horsemen, who num- 
bered about thirty-five men, led by Lieutenant Dutton and 
the redoubtable Big Horn. 

Before the balloon was fairly anchored, Sam leaped from 
the car at the imminent risk of breaking his neck, to 
grasp the latter by the hand, while the rest of the hunters 
crowded around with smiling faces and words of welcome, 
for Kocky Mountain Sam was a universal favorite. 

^^What, old fellow, is it really you?’’ he cried, shaking the 
brawny hand again and again, ‘‘I can scarcely believe it 
after what Pve passed through.^’ 

Big Horn was less demonstrative in his manner, but was 
equally well pleased at the reunion, as was evident by the 
snapping of his eyes and the flushing of his rugged face. 
He drew Sam to one side, and there, surrounded by a knot 
of eager listeners, the latter began to spin his yarn of mid- 
air adventure, which, ungarnished as it was, it was plain to 
see, however, that many of them accepted with unusual 
grains of allowance. 

The professor was at the same time performing a like duty 
in satisfying the curiosity of Lieutenant Dutton and others, 
which, of course, he was enabled to do in choicer though 
scarcely more graphic language than his friend, while litBe 
Layaway rescued herself from oblivion by cooking fresh bear 
meat as fast as she could and handing it out to whomsoever 
chanced to be hungry. 

The haggard and generally unkempt appearance of the 
young lieutenant spoke eloquently of the anxiety and sus- 
pense which had preyed upon him so long, and he was 
especially excited by the description of the fight of the pre- 
ceding day, when the balloonists had so nearly succeeded in 
rescuing Mollie from her cruel captors. 

‘^How fortunate you have been to have but looked upon 
her gentle face — to have fought and bled so dearly in her 
behalf, said Lieutenant Dutton, when the old man had 
concluded; ^^vhile we, with the exception of a trifling 
skirmish on the lower side of the lake there, have hardly 
smelt gunpowder.'^ 

“The colonel did not accompany you I perceive.'^ 

^‘No, we prevailed upon him to remain at the ranch, 
where, I trust and believe, a detachment of troops must have 
arrived ere this for the protection of his property. We have 
made rather poor progress, on account of the broken nature 


90 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


of the ground; but last night we camped out and had a fine 
rest for man and beast near Big HoriUs cabin, among the 
canons there south of the lake, and here we are. But tell 
me, my friend,'' added the young man, lowering his voi.ie, 
and taking the old man a little apart, ^‘how'did poor Mollie 
seem? They — they have not dared to abuse her?" 

''By no means," replied the professor, cheerily. "She 
appeared a little anxious and care-worn, as you'd naturally 
expect, but the squaw we captured assured us that she was 
held in the utmost respect by every one, Firefoot included, 
and from what I saw I do not doubt that she spoke the 
truth. Her captor is too much a man of the world to 
attempt any harsh measures toward her, depend upon it; 
and like enough relies upon winning her esteem by soft 
treatment." 

Dutten gritted his teeth. 

"Oil, curse him — curse the villain!" he muttered; "but 
we shall yet meet — I feel it in my bones and blood that we 
shall yet meet, hand to hand." 

"Take it more coolly," said the philosopher, airily. "I 
remember that I myself was once a prey to such worldly 
passions and animosities; but, bless you! after I had crossed 
the icy barriers of the great Antarctic Ocean, in the autumn 
of 1819, I soon " 

But, fortunately for the love-sick lieutenant, the old 
gentleman was again interrupted (probably for the five 
hundredth time in the course of his life) by an outrider gal- 
loping up with the report that a number of Indians were 
watching their movements from a distant eminence. 

"What is your plan, by which you in your balloon can 
best co-operate with us?’' said Dutton. 

"Better ask Big Horn, who knows more about the In- 
juns than any one else in these parts," growled the professor, 
who was a trifie miffed by the summary manner in which 
his story had been snubbed — perhaps he was sanguine 
enough to suppose that he would one day really get it off to 
sympathic ears; and Big Horn himself, coming up at this 
moment, was at once referred to. 

The redoubtable hunter produced his short stemmed 
pipe, and while he calmly filled and lighted it, appeared to 
be turning something over in his mind with even more than 
his usual deliberation. 

"The hull Blackfeet nation's on the war-path, that's sar- 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


91 


tain said he, ^^an'ifc seems to me as Firefiit^s bound to 
make a hard fight afore he'll give up the gal. That ere 
place whar FirefuFs goin" to make’s stan’ is a tearin’ canon 
— reg’lar hell-hole’n the hills, 'n it’ll take a reg’ment fur to 
smoke him out. The only hope is, when he sees the small 
size of our force, he’ll make a fight on the open plain at the 
foot of the mountains. Nothin’ more to say.” 

‘^But what do you advise, Big Horn?” 

^^Go right in an’ win. Can’t get wuss’n licked; an’ the 
gas-bag may help us out.” 

It was at length agreed that the expedition should set out 
at once, pursuing the trail northward which the renegade 
had taken on the preceding day, while the balloon was to 
sail ahead to survey the country, and in case of a fight to 
render what assistance it could. 

Sam and the professor sprang back into the car, and the 
latter was about to trip anchor, when Big Horn, who had 
learned of the heroic part enacted by Fayaway in the ad- 
ventures of the aeronauts, rode up to the side of the car, 
and gravely patting the maiden upon the head, said in a 
low voice: 

^^My little squaw, you air a brick, if you air a gal!” 

The next moment the balloon was in the air, and the 
hunters were wishing it God-speed with a hearty cheer. 

^'By criminy! I’ll be jealous of Big Horn, if you don’t 
look out, Fayaway,” said Sam, with a laugh. 

^‘No, no; Fayaway love Sammy — no more love. Big 
Horn big chief; oh, so big,” said the Indian girl, rolling her 
eyes and standing upon tiptoe as she raised both hands in 
the air; ‘^^but much ugly, and never much carie for love 
leetle gal, that’s all.” 

‘^Well, I must confess he isn’t a beauty,” said her lover, 
still laughing; ‘‘but he’s brave and hardy enough to win the' 
heart of many a squaw for all that. What do you make 
out with your spy-glass, professor?” 

“Nothing as yet,” replied the hero of the Antarctic ice- 
barriers, without removing from his eye the telescope with 
which he was patiently sweeping the horizon and the coun- 
try underneath. “See how the thermometer stands, and 
chuck out a sack or two. We ain’t making more than thirty 
miles an hour,” 

Sam threw out some ballast, and in looking over the side 
saw that they had already left their friends far, far below 


92 KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

and behind, and then reported on the state of the ther- 
mometer. 

"'Ha! this is something like/^ exclaimed the professor, 
as the balloon began to eddy and plunge in the in- 
fluence of a stronger current. "‘There’s life enough in 
the old gas-bag yet. Give that old fan-wheel a turn or two, 
Sam. That^s it. WeTe just crossing the headwaters of 
Teton Kiver, and I see the silver thread of Miry Fork in 
the distance.’-’ 

There was a silence for half an hour or so, when sud- 
denly he cried out: 

""Lord alive! look at the Indians! Big Horn was right. 
Firefoot, in contempt of the insignificance of our force, 
is going to offer battle on the plains at the foot of the 
mountains.-” 

This brought both Sam and Fayaway to the side of the 
car in an instant, and they could plainly discern the In- 
dians in large numbers on the plain to the north. 

""But what is that burning down there? Have they set 
fire to the forest?” said Sam. 

""No; they are simply burning the brushwood off to give 
free scope for the movements of their ponies,” said the 
professor. ""But pull the throttle-valve a little, Sam; we 
must letup a bit and drop a message to our friends. If 
I am not mistaken, this bids fair to be the biggest fight 
out.” 


CHAPTER XII. 

MIRY FORK. 

A bosom of fire in the foeman’s path, 

Like the Angel of Death from the mountains it came; 

The pine-covered steeps shriveled up in its wrath, 

The prairies were all aflame. 

When the balloon had descended into the calmer at- 
mosphere the White Hermit waited until Big Horn and 
his band came directly beneath, and then dropped them the 
following message, attached to a stout stick: • 

“Firefoot is preparing for battle on the plain near Miry Fork, fifteen 
miles to tho north-west, with perhaps two hundred and fifty warriors. 
We will wait till you open the fight before participating. 

“Max Aiey, D. B. F, K A. A.” 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


93 


A sign from below gave them to luiderstand that the 
contents of the message were comprehended, and would be 
acted upon forthwith; and they at once saw the hunters 
strike out at an accelerated pace, as though bent on the 
business in hand^ 

‘^Are we goin'’ to loaf up here all the time without smellin^ 
powder, while Big Horn and his screamers go in and win?’-’ 
said Eocky Mountain Sam, in a discontented tone. 

“Haven^t you had fighting enough for a while said the 
professor, mildly. 

“1 hardly think I ever had enough of Indian fighting 
in my life,^^ said our hero, stretching his sinewy frame and 
yawning. ^^Although it was only last evening we had our 
last rumpus, it seems to me an age.^’ 

^^Well, you won't be kept in idleness very long, my son. 
But yon see we travel so much faster than our friends on 
horseback that we must give them a cliance to get well 
on to the enemy before we put in our oar. But, dear me! 
what is that vast cloud approaching us from the south 

“It’s a flock of wild ducks and wild geese,’' cried Sam, 
in delight. 

“So it is,” said the professor, bringing his glass to bear; 
“only I should have thought it rather late in the season 
for their regular migration. It is an enormous flock, and 
if we go little higher up we shall be directly in their path.” 

“Up she goes, then!” cried Sam, suiting the action to 
the word by heaving over a sand-bag. “Hooray! we’ll ring 
a change on bear-meat with roast duck and biled goose, 
Fayaway.” 

“Be ready with a club to knock down all you can,” cried 
old Max; “and mind you take as many of the geese alive as 
is possible. I have hit upon a certain plan in which they 
may play an important part.” 

“Well, that’s the biggest flock I ever see!” exclaimed Sam, 
gazing at the approaching masses, while their number 
caused Fay a way to give a little scream. 

The flock of water-fowl was fully a mile broad, and per- 
haps a mile thick, and the birds were packed so densely that 
it seemed a wonder that they had sufficient room for the 
movement of their wings, which, as they approached, made 
a great roaring sound like the rushing of a heavy surf upon 
a rocky beach, mingling strangely with the sharp, changing 


94 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


utterance of the birds themselves, which was almost deaf- 
ening. 

On they came, the noise becoming louder every instant, 
and it was now too late to avoid the shock of their onward 
rush, as the balloonists were well disposed to do, for there 
seemed to be a real danger of their being overwhelmed. 

^‘^Hold hard, and strike out T’’ yelled the professor, leaning 
forward over the car, and sweeping out among the birds 
with a long pole, while Sam and Fayaway, similarly armed, 
beat them away and down on either side. 

The van of the flock at first parted and spread out on 
either hand like a fan, but the myriads behind, knowing 
nothing of the obstruction ahead, rushed blindly on, dashing 
themselves over, under, and against the balloon, and among 
the ropes of the rigging with tremendous force and clam- 
orous cries. 

The light of the .sun was darkened as by the passage of a 
thunder cloud, the air grew stiflingly close in the midst’ of 
the smothering masses, and Sam and old Max could only 
hit out blindly right and left, while Fayaway was com- 
pletely overborne and fell, screaming with fright, into the 
bottom of the car. 

^‘By ! the balloon will be torn to pieces, groaned 

Sam, himself sinking under the weight that rushed upon 
him from every side. 

‘^Oourage!^^ cried the professor; “it can’t last forever.” 

At last, after a time which seemed an age, the gloom 
grew brighter, and the flock thinner, and a few moments 
afterward, the birds had passed to the north, leaving a few 
straggling lines on either hand. 

Both Max and Sam staggered to their feet, and looked 
around them in amazement. The balloon itself had not 
suflered materially by the collision, but many of the cords 
connecting it with the car were broken and torn, the line 
connecting with the throttle-valve was floating far out of 
reach, the canvas canopy over their heads was torn to ribbons, 
and the body of the car itself was filled almost to the top 
with the bodies of the dead, crippled, and senseless birds; 
the two men being covered up to their waists. 

Sam was the first to entirely recover himself, and did so 
only to exclaim in a startled voice: 

“Great Heaven! where is Fayaway? She must have been 
carried overboard!'^ 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


95 


Max returned liis startled look with interest, and could 
only cast his eyes about him in a wild, despairing way, when 
suddenly a low, stifled sort of groan came to their ears. 

^‘Hooray! sheVburied up under the birds!"’ shouted Sam, 
digging his way into the center of the feathered masses with 
terrible energy. ^‘Pitch in, old man! or she’ll be smothered 
to death.” 

Old Max also began to work like a beaver through the 
birds, throwing them this way and that, overboard or any- 
where, and ill a few seconds the fainting girl was dragged 
from under her living tomb, while the old man burrowed 
down again for some water to dash upon her face. 

Fayaway proved to have been more frightened than hurt, 
and after recoveriijg her senses was speedily set to rights 
again. 

‘‘Now to dispose of the birds and repair our rigging,” 
said the professor, who had recovered his coolness. “You 
see we shall have enough to keep us busy while waiting for 
the time to co-operate successfully with our friends. In the 
first place let us chuck ov’^rboard about half the dead birds, 
and then tie all the living ones together in pairs.” 

‘•There’s geese enough for us all. Big Horn and company 
included, and lots to spare,” said Sam, quickly regaining 
his cheerfulness, as he and Fayaway bent to the work in 
hand. “But what’s the use of the live birds, professor? 
Better wring their necks, I fancy; they’ll keep.” 

“I have a pyrotechnic project in view, in which the live 
birds may assist us very materially,” said the professor, who 
was standing upon the side of the car, busily repairing the 
rigging. 

"‘^Py-ro-what?” asked Sam, looking up with a puzzled air. 

“You will see this evening, my sCn.” said the other, with 
an overweening consciousness of superior wisdom. “Better 
go on with your work now, and ask no more questions, for 
we haven’t too much time to spare.” 

“Don’t you think you’ll burst with self-contained wisdom 
some time or other?” asked our hero, with some temper. 

“Hardly,” was the composed reply. “Ah, I remember 
when I was almost as fresh and conceited as yourself, my 
poor boy. Why when I was crossing the icy barriers of the 
great Antarctic Ocean in 1812 ” 

“It s a pity you didn’t stay there,” growled Sam; “but 
please to remember that you’ve already talked poor Fay- 


96 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


away almost to death with that infernal old yarn, and that 
I myself haven^t any desire to die jnst yet."’"’ 

The White Hermit’s eyes snapped, and his hatchet face 
flushed with anger, and he might even have lapsed into one 
of his loony fits if Fayaway had not, with a woman’s tact, 
at this moment pointed over the car, and cried out: 

^Tnjun make fight; white man make fight. Oh, more 
fire, so much 1” 

The professor’s telescope was leveled at once, and lie for- 
got everything else in the scene below. 

^‘Hooray!” cried Sam; ‘^there’s hound to be a scrimmage. 
But what in the duse are our fellers up to? TJiey don’t 
seem to he anxious for a row.” 

‘‘And why should they, when they number scarcely forty 
strong, while the savages opposed to them are between two 
and three hundred?” said Max. ‘^Big Horn is proving 
himself a general, as well as a fighter. You see him and the 
lieutenant are maneuvering to post their band on, that little 
triangular-shaped hillock, which is securely defended by 
the steep mountain wall upon one side, and by the deep 
waters of Miry Fork on the other, thus leaving only one 
narrow side open to attack. There! what did I tell you? 
They are already posted, and some of them have dismounted, 
and are beginning to fell timber across the opening. Why 
in ten minutes they will have formed a natural fort of no in- 
sigtiificant strength. Sam, see if you can reach the lin? 
attached to the throttle-valve. We must go a little lower S'jv 
as to be in readiness for co-operation.” ‘ 

Sam succeeded in doing this; the birds were neatly piltd 
up, living and dead, around the sides of the car, and in a 
few minutes they were comparatively near the surface of 
the earth; so near, indeed, that by shouting aloud, they 
could readily converse with their companions below — ^a 
well-known principle in aerostatics, which is generally 
understood. 

•‘Can we do anything for you at present, boys?” sang out 
the professor. 

“No,” shouted back Lieutenant Dutton. “We have 
plenty of water close at hand as you see; but we want 
something to eat, though, of course, you can’t help us to 
that.” 

“We can’t, eh?” said the old man, drawing in his head. 
“Sam, just drop them about twenty brace of them ducks 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


97 


and geese — the dead ones, of course; we’ll furnish them 
with a pleasant surprise. 

Sam did as he was requested, and a shout of pleasure 
arose from the hunters as the plump birds came tumbling 
down among them. 

^‘The enemy are preparing to attack you; beware 
called out the professor. 

‘^^We can see them almost as well as you. We are ready, 
was the reply. 

The Indians, who had relied upon being able to crush 
the whites at a single blow, by sheer force of overwhelm- 
ing numbers upon the open plain, were somewhat taken 
aback by a course of strategy that not only protected two 
flanks and the rear of the hunters, but rendered an attack 
in full force impossible. Nevertheless, Firefoot, their chief, 
could be observed riding energetically among them; and 
presently about seventy-five warriors, six abreast, moved at 
a sharp trot upon the little hill, sending forth a volley of 
bullets and arrows as they advanced, while the hunters — 
who had dismounted, leaving their horses out of barmy’s 
way among the rocks — coolly awaited their approach, 
crouching behind their temporary shelter of logs, and re- 
serving their fire. 

see Firefoot, but not the Prairie Blossom, his captive, 
said Sam. suppose he^s hid her away in the rocks some- 
where to wait the upshot of the scrimmage. By crackie! 
If we could only find out the place and yank her right out 
behind their backs, wouldnT it be a joke!” 

reckon the renegade has taken pretty good precau- 
tions against that,” said the old man. ‘‘Hallo! the fighPs 
commenced. Lower away there, and bust open some of 
them sand-bags!” 

The hunters reserved their fire until they could count 
the streaks of war-paint upon their enemy^s faces, and 
then poured in volley after volley from their breech-load- 
ers with tremendous effect; while the Indians were still 
further discommoded by clouds of fine sand and alkali 
dust being filtered into their eyes from above, as well as 
by some very tall sharp-shooting on the part of the aero- 
nauts. 

“Keep the dance up!” yelled Big Horn, springing upon 
the rough rampart, emptying his revolver with swift-suc- 
ceeding shots, and almost at the same instant, sending a 


98 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


left-handed knife-thrust into the breast of an unhorsed 
savage who liad tumbled at his feet. 

‘‘Once again, men — let them have itP^ cried out the clear 
voice of Lieutenant Dutton, springing to the hunter’s side, 
and waving his sword; and, again and again, breech-loader 
and revolver poured forth their leaden hail. 

The savages fell back; riderless ponies dashed frantically 
hither and thither, trampling their whilom masters under- 
foot; and the screams and groans of the wounded mingled 
with the death-shrieks of the freshly slain; the panic 
stricken cries of the flying, and the hoarse shouts of the 
hunters, while stones, sticks, and iron bars were rained 
down upon the dusky skulls from the Wind Specter over- 
head. 

But a fresh body of the Indians poured up in support of 
their fellows, while Firefoot dashed hither and thither, 
shouting, exhorting, and striking out, and reforming the 
ranks that had been broken. 

“Curse that infernal balloon!” he groaned, with a bitter 
oath, as one of the warriors at his side fell from his sad- 
dle beneath a crushing stone. Is there no way of getting 
rid of it?” 

“If I once git my claws onto Kocky Mountain Sam he 
won’t go cavortin’ through the sky never no more/’ vapored 
Eube Tenyck, who rode at his other hand. 

He had hardly spoken before he found himself jerked 
from his saddle and dangling over his comrades’ heads — 
one of the grappling irons from the balloon having secured 
him by the nape of the neck. 

Eube bellowed like a stuck pig, and in vain endeavored 
to struggle free, while there was a momentary cessation of 
hostilities in the general surprise and interest occasioned by 
his flight upward. 

“Eeach over your head and cut yourself loose, you in- 
fernal fool!” cried the renegade, narrowly escaping a 
kick in the head from his unfortunate henchman, as he 
swung this way and that, in his awkward struggles to be 
freed. 

“I c-c-can’t, d-d-don’t you s-s-see I c-c-cant,” gasped 

Eube. “The d-d-d d th-thing has got me right by the 

b-back-bone. Oh, criminy, d-don’t d-duck me!” 

This last appeal was occasioned by Sam, who laughingly 
holding the other end of the grapnel-line, suddenly shifted 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


99 


his position in the car, so as to bring his writhing victim di- 
rectly over the deep and miry current of the near-flowing 
stream. 

^"Don^t — d-don^t, I tell yon/^ gasped Rube; but the words 
were quickly smothered in their source by his being soused 
head over ears into the center of the turbid waters. He 
was withdrawn, snorting and spluttering like a porpoise, 
only to be ducked under and under again; while the hun- 
ters yelled with laughter, and even the stoicism of some 
of the Indians relaxed into an irrepressible smile at the 
woe-begone appearance of their luckless comrade — who, belt 
said, had never been popular among them, notwithstanding 
his strenuous efforts to be so. 

^‘Th-th-this is d-d-d d mean, S-S-Sam,^^ spluttered 

the poor fellow. ^‘You k-know I-I n-never treated you 
s-s-so — oh!^'’ and under he went again, stirring up the 
muddy waters in his frantic struggle, and gasping for breath 
at every plunge. 

At length one of the Indians taking compassion upon 
him, or out of gratitude for some tardily remembered favor 
of the past, let fly an arrow, which severed the line, and 
poor Rube disappeared under the turbid water. He pres- 
ently re-appeared, and clambered up the bank, woefully be- 
draggled, and still bearing the grapnel clanking down his 
back. 

But Rube Tenyck and his ridiculous adventure were 
speedily forgotten in matters of sterner import, as the flght 
was at once resumed. 

The Indians crowded about the little band defending the 
hillock with redoubled strength, and though they were 
ruthlessly mowed down, and great gaps were made in their 
ranks by the rapidly firing death-dealing breech-loaders 
of the hunters, they frequently wavered, but did not fly. 

Several of the gallant little band were already on the 
ground, either wounded or slain, and the rest were already 
breathing hard under their terrible exertions, and still the 
trained ponies of the enemy pressed up to the low barricade, 
and the hideous war-whoops of their savage riders rang 
above the tumult of the fray. 

To add to their disadvantages, the smoke from the burn- 
ing brush-heaps began to blow in great volumes directly in 
the hunters' faces, half-blinding them and causing them to 
falter fatally. 


100 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


The savages pressed forward with yells of anticipative 
triumph. The doom of the hunters seemed sealed. 


CHAPTEE XIII. 

A FIGHTER OF THE ^'PERIOD.^^ 

The long prairie grass, like the billows af ocean, 

From sunrise to sunset is never at rest, 

And — still hke the sea — in its soft silent motion, 

Hides many a grave in its emerald breast; 

The bones of how many must moldering be 
’Neath the shadow and shine of that wild glassy sea ! 

But even in this hour of distress they were destined to 
have a few moments of grateful respite. 

^‘Clar the track cried a clear and ringing voice directly 
overhead. 

It was Eocky Mountain Sam. 

The next moment the balloon, whose sudden descent had 
been obscured from all by the thick smoke of the burning 
brush, plunged down with a windy roar, and the heavy car 
went swinging and crashing right and left among the dusky 
ranks, and Sam and the professor, crowbar in hand, leaned 
from either side, striking out terrible blows, while Fayaway 
— loose hair on the wind and wild eyes agleam with the" fierce 
fire of her warrior descent — did effective work with a re- 
volver. 

‘‘Courage, mates, courage!” cried the shrill voice of the 
White Hermit. “Booglebooby to the rescue!” 

A dozen Indians were swept from their saddles by the 
suddenness and fury of the assault; the hunters, encouraged 
beyond measure, renewed the fight with ringing cheers, and 
for a moment the iron rank of the redskins rolled back in 
confusion. 

But though a number of them had enough of their old 
superstitious terror remaining to take to flight at once at the 
mere mention of the name of “Booglebooby,” the majority 
of them had by this time become pretty well used to the 
balloon and its inmates, and there was therefore no general 
panic. Again the tide of battle rolled up against the little 
barricade; again the blinding smoke eddied into the hunters^ 
eyes, and a score of savage hands were lifted resentfully 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


101 


against the balloon-car, in spite of the summary and effect- 
ive manner in which it surged among them. 

Firefoot dashed hither and thither, with desperate 
bravery, urging, aiding, animating all the presiding spirit 
of revenge and carnage, and utterly regardless of the thick- 
flying arrows and bullets. 

‘‘Now is the time to get rid of this Air Phantom for- 

ever he cried, spurring recklessly toward the tossing car, 
knife in hand, to cut it loose. “Forward, my braves! blood 
for blood 

“Ko, you don’t. Boh Scarlet!” cried Rocky Mountain 
Sam, whirling his crowbar over his head as if it were a reed 
and bringing it down with a will. 

But the bar, as its intended victim swerved aside, only 
struck the side of the car and bounded out of its wielder’s 
grip with a ringing clang. The renegade pressed forward 
with a triumphant shout, his waving knife was already upon 
the ropes, when suddenly the clenched fist of the young 
hunter caught him a terrific blow between the eyes, and sent 
him reeling back into his saddle. 

The balloon was once more free, and two or three sand- 
bags hurled overboard by the professor, served to swing the 
car again above the dusky heads. Almost simultaneously 
with the movement Sam hurled his lariat, catching an In- 
dian by the leg and jerking him from his pony into the air, 
while old Max, with equal success, cast a grapnel, slipping 
another under the chin and swinging him aloft. 

Then, as the balloon careered fitfully to and fro, the 
bodies of the unfortunates were whirled about the heads of 
their companions, mauling and bruising them, and, of 
course, soon knocking the breath out of the suspended 
forms. 

But the savages were now goaded to madness by the ter- 
rible losses they had received, and— flinging their supersti- 
tions to the winds, and apin reanimated by the voice of 
their leader — a score of sinewy hands seized the dangling 
ropes, and the next instant the car was upon the ground, 
almost under the horses’ feet, and its occupants, sorely be- 
set upon every side, were struggling not merely for the 
safety of the balloon, but for dear life. 

“Great Heaven!” exclaimed Lieutenant Dutton, leaning 
upon his sword, faint and pale from the loss of blood, “if 
the balloon is destroyed or captured, we are lost,” 


102 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


sha’n^t be lost!’^ cried Big Horn, swinging to the 
front, with an oath. ^‘Ten men to back me,^^ he roared, 
looking back, ‘^only ten, an’ we’ll save the gas-bag! Rocky 
Mountain Sam’s in danger! who’s with me?” 

“Here! here! I! I! Big Horn to the rescue!” cried half 
a score of voices; and the next instant the front line of the 
Indians parted, as before a driving wedge, as Big Horn and 
his handful of braves hewed a bloody lane toward the be- 
leaguered balloon. 

To witness the redoubtable Big Horn in a battle was to 
cease to wonder at the universal dread and respect in which 
he was held by the Indians. On foot, with a knife in either 
hand, and his rugged features lit by the splendor of his bat- 
tle smile, his massive shoulders towered above the press, 
seeming to make no more of the blows showered upon him 
from every side than if they had been thistle-down and 
feathers, and horse and rider seemed to go down at every 
stroke of his reeking knives. 

The majority of them did not dare to even offer resist- 
ance. 

“For that large-molded man, 

His visage all agrin as at a wake, 

Made at them through the press, and, staggering back 
With stroke on stroke the horsemen, came 
As comes the pillar of electric cloud, 

Flajung the roofs and sucking up the drains, 

And shadowing down the champaign till it strikes 

On a wood, and takes, and breaks, and cracks, and splits, 

And twists the grain with such a, roar that Earth 
Reels, and the herdsmen cry, for everything 
Gave way before him.” 

Big Horn’s ten followers, inspired by his example, kept 
close together, retaining the wedge-form at every hazard, 
and performing prodigies of valor as they steadily pushed 
their way, step by step and foot by foot, through the sav- 
ages, their companions keeping up an incessant fire to pro- 
tect their rear. 

“Cheer up, pard!” cried out Big Horn to Sam. “Keep 
it up three minutes longer and you’re all hunky. The old 
man’s a cornin’!” 

The balloonists certainly needed all the encouragement 
they could get. Old Max lay on his back in the center of 
the car, half-stunned by a blow he had just received. Fay- 
away crouched beside him, faint and trembling with exhaus- 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


103 


tion, thoiigli unwounded, and Sam alone balanced himself 
on the edge of the car — bare-headed, blood-stained, and with 
his hunting-shirt torn to rags — with his enemies swarming 
around him, and fighting with the energy of despair. 

He could hardly stand; every fiber and tissue of his frame 
was quivering with exhaustion and pain, and he was about 
to resign himself to his fate — to give up the last vestige of 
hope — when the cheering words of his old ^^pard^^ gave him 
a new lease of life and strength, and, casting up a hurried 
glance, he was for the first time aware of the rescue that 
was being so gallantly attempted. 

He answered the shout with a wan smile and a feeble 
cheer, struck down one more dusky head, and then, losing 
his balance, stumbled back and fell upon his knees in the 
bottom of the car. 

But the relief at hand was substantial as it was oppor- 
tune. 

At the very instant, the Herculean form of Big Horn 
surged in, brushing the savages from the side of the car like 
chaif before the tempest, and the men at his back played 
out with their long knives, stabbing riders, hamstringing 
ponies, and doing terrible execution generally. 

Nor was this all. The hunters who had been left behind, 
seeing the success of Big Hornes forlorn hope, now mounted 
their horses — which were comparatively fresh after their 
long rest — and, with Lieutenant Dutton at their head, 
leaped the low barrier, and charged upon the reeling ranks 
of the red men with a ringing shout. 

There \yas a momentary pause in the immediate vicinity 
of the ballooni 

Sam staggered to his feet again, and grasped another 
weapon, while Big Horn leaned over into the car, and, pat- 
ting the trembling maiden under the chin with his ruddy 
hand, said: 

“Beetle gal, d^ye recollect my sayin^ as how you were a 
brick 

She nodded her head and smiled faintly. 

“AVell, so you air; but donT give in at the last rub. Jist 
chuck some water on the ole gent’s face, thar, aiT fetch him 
to. I propose fur to use this '’ere gas-bag a leetle on my 
own hook, d'’ye understan?'’^ 

Whether she understood or not, she speedily brought the 


104 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


professor back to his senses after the manner suggested, 
when the great hunter turned to Sam and whispered: 

“Now, old boy, thar’ ain’t a minute to lose. Jist tie them 
two ropes around my shoulders, swing up yer gas-bag 'bout 
twenty foot from the groun’, and let me loose on the var* 
mints with these ^ere toadstickers o^ mine. D’ye under- 
stan’?” 

“Perfectly,^^ said Sam, swiftly making the ropes fast, as 
he had been requested. “Professor, have you got strength 
enough to chuck out some of the sand?^^ 

“I can but try, my son,^'’ said the still rather dazed pro- 
fessor, philosophical to the last, and, at the same time, with 
Faya way’s assistance, he managed to heave overboard three 
or four of the larger sacks. 

This stratagem, though its execution took less time than 
has been consumed in describing it, was completed none too 
soon. 

The Indians having recovered from the shock of the 
charge of the mounted hunters, still confident in their over- 
whelming superiority of numbers, and re-formed and re- 
nerved by the incessant efforts of their indomitable leader, 
successfully resisted another charge, rolling back their 
assailants in considerable confusion upon their barricade, 
and once more — on pony-back and on foot — swarmed up to 
the balloon, pressing back its handful of defenders step by 
step, and making fatal inroads among the little band. 

“Fight your way back to the hills,” whispered Big Horn 
to the nearest of those who had followed him. 

The next instant the balloon shot into the air, and he was 
lifted several feet from the ground, but with his face to the 
enemy, with a grim battle-smile upon his lips, and a long, 
blood-dripping hunting-knife gleaming in either hand. 

As the balloon suddenly careened above he was pitched, 
in a slanting direction, at an angle of about thirty-five de- 
grees, directly through the Indian horde, and he fought 
with hands and feet as he flew, carving himself out a lane 
this way and that, and escaping from the blows that were 
aimed at him as if by invisible interposition. 

While Sam had been securing the ropes under his arm- 
pits, one of the hunters, at his command, had tightly bound 
the handle of a hunting-knife under each foot, the long 
blade projecting far beyond the toes of the moccasins, as 
well as a knife at each elbow, with the blades sticking out at 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


105 


right angles from the body, while he also carried the butt of 
another knife between his iron jaws, which he was likewise 
enabled to use with terrible advantage. 

Thus armed, or fairly bristling with trenchant steel blades, 
seven in number, from top to toe, and splendidly engineered 
in his airy movements by his comrade in the balloon-car 
above his head, it is left in a great measure to the imagin- 
ation of the excited reader as to the effect that was produced 
upon the foe by this novel and terrible mode of attack. 

The consequences of his fleeting passages through their 
terror-stricken ranks were much like those that must have 
been produced by a Scythian or Trojan war-chariot of the 
olden ages, bristling with its swords and scythes, and urged 
by horses breasted and crested with iron spikes. 

As Big Horn was swung back from one of these slaughter- 
ing, mid-air raids, with blood and gore dripping from every 
blade upon him, the ranks of the Indians would reform once 
more. But away he would fly again on the return swing, in 
his terrible slantwise flight, first slicing open a savage with 
his mouth piece by a dextrous twist of his neck, then striking 
out and bringing down another with either hand, which 
motion would of course bring his steel- armed elbows into 
wide chopping play, while, at the same time, launching out 
with his feet, in vigorous kicks, his stiletto-pointed moc- 
casins would carve and cleave here and there, completing on 
horse and man the destruction which might have escaped 
mouth, hands, and elbows, only to swing back again — cut- 
ting and slicing on his return quite as much as upon his out- 
set— for another flight more deadly and murderous than be- 
fore. 

Human endurance— even that of the savages inured to 
desperate and bloody scenes — could not stand up against this 
terrible treatment for any great length of time; and as the 
hunters again charged from their barricade— supported by 
the few on foot who remained of what had been the forlorn 
hope — with renewed vigor, the Indians began to waver and 
break at more than one point of the line, notwithstanding 
the desperate endeavors and entreaties of Firefoot to the 
contrary. 

As the majority of them gave way. Big Horn swooped 
among them for about the twentieth time, striking, kick- 
ing, chopping, cutting and cleaving right and left, and the 
next instant their leader was gripped by the throat, torn 


106 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


from his saddle, and locked in the terrible embrace of the 
bravo of the Big Horn, though the latter made no attempt 
upon his life as they swung together through the air. 

^‘Scarlet! Robert Scarlet! do^ye know why it is I don’t 
wash my hands in yer heart’s blood?” hissed the avenger, in 
the other’s ear, the knife dropping from between his teeth 
as he did so. 

''I do not know, nor care,” replied the other, in that 
hopeless, forlorn voice which h^ad distinguished him before 
in addressing the hunter. ‘^You know the object of my 
life. Let me but look upon my lost mother’s face and I wdll 
freely offer you my life — anything!” 

^^Do you deserve it, after kidnapping a fair, pure girl from 
her father’s roof?” 

^^She will learn to love me in time.” 

^^Bah! Robert Scarlet, d’ye know 

‘^How should I?” 

‘^^But you will know in time — to your cost.” 

And' my mother?” 

^‘You shall, perhaps, see her, too, in time; and then my 
revenge will be complete. Ha!” 

This strange interview had passed in swiftly interchanged 
whispers, and had scarcely taken up a dozen seconds. The 
last exclamation was occasioned by a flying savage springing 
upon the hunter’s legs from behind and making a desperate 
attempt to stab him, which, from his disabled condition, he 
was unable to do. 

In freeing himself from the attack. Big Horn dropped the 
renegade, who at once bounded back into his saddle, and 
made a last, frenzied attempt to stay the flight of his fol- 
lowers, whose demoralization was by this time well-nigh 
complete. But the effort was in vain. 

Big Horn made a final swoop through the flying redskins, 
and then reaching above his head and severing the ropes 
that sustained him, fell, covered with blood and almost ex- 
liausted, among his companions, who were pressing the pur- 
suit, with victorious cries. 

They halted around the hunter, whose tremendous in- 
dividual valor had probably saved the lives of all, and, used 
as they were to fierce and bloody adventure, gazed upon 
him with admiration and respect that were akin to awe; 
while Dutton could only grasp his mighty hand, without a 
word. 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


107 


^^Don’t run arter ^em no furder/^ gasped Big Horn. ‘^It’s 
no use. They\e got a big force on the plain as ain’t been 
in the fight, you know.” Then looking up, wonderingly, 
he exclaimed: ^‘Why, whar on airth’s the gas-bag?” 

Where, indeed?” echoed a dozen voices, and all eyes 
were anxiously raised upward. 

The balloon had disappeared. 


CHAPTER XIV. 

HAI^D TO HAND. 

Fails the carnage and fades the fight, 

And the Day, like a conqueror, bursts on the Night; 

But many there be on the blood-sodden plain 
Who never will joy in his glory again. 

But as the hunters wearily and anxiously returned to the 
little hillock which they had defended so successfully and 
valiantly — but, alas! at what a cost? with nearly half of their 
number killed or wounded — and as the enshrouding smoke 
of the encircling brush-fires cleared away, they perceived 
the balloon directly over their heads, at such a lofty alti- 
tude as to appear little more than a speck in the unclouded 
vault. 

Almost at the same moment, a paper missive, weighted 
with a heavy stick, came fluttering down to their feet. 

Lieutenant Dutton opened it, and read its contents, as 
follows: 

“Courageous Friends: — The immediate danger is over, and we go to 
replenish the gas in our balloon, as well as to repair damages suffered 
diiring the fight. We will be near you again to-night. In the mean- 
time, stay where you are, and do not risk an attack unless you hear 
froni us to the contrary. The Indians still hold the plain, and have 
over a hundred fresh warriors, who were not engaged at all. 

“Max Airy, D. B. F. R. A. A.” 

^^Good enough!” commented Dutton; ‘^only there’s no 
need to bid us stay where we are — we’re too tired to do any- 
thing else. AVhat do you say, boys? We’ve got enough 
goose-meat to make a capital meal on. While apart of you 
attend to the cooking, the rest of us will take care of the 
dead and wounded. It is only a little after midday, and 
we’ve got plenty of time before us.” 


108 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


By sunset, comparative quiet had been restored in the 
little camp. Most of the wounded remaining alive were 
not greatly hurt, the majority of them having died soon 
after being struck — such was the desperate nature of the 
battle of Miry Fork. 

The dead hunters were in their graves; a hearty meal, a 
bath in the neighboring stream, and several hours of rest 
and repose, had revived the strength and spirits of the sur- 
vivors; and even the horses were recuperating their energies 
upon a little strip of rich meadow, covered by their owner’s 
position on the hill. 

The Indians had sent a deputation requesting permission 
to carry olf their dead and wounded; and a close observa- 
tion of their movements on the part of two or three curious 
scouts had revealed the astounding fact that their losses had 
not been less than sixty killed and eighty wounded; and 
they were probably even more. 

The weather changed as night came on. Heavy black 
clouds began to pile up in the sky, vivid streaks of lightning 
split them in twain, and there came the rumbling sound of 
approaching thunder. 

‘^We shall have a storm,” said the young lieutenant, 
anxiously, and hardly knowing whether such an event would 
be to their advantage or detriment. ‘T would like to know 
what Big Horn thinks of it; but Fm ashamed to disturb his 
rest after what he has gone through.” 

He glanced wistfully at the bravo, who had cast his huge 
frame underneath a stinted cedar, and was breathing heavily 
in the profound sleep that comes from very great exhaus- 
tion. 

^^He won’t keer fur bein’ woke up ef thar’s business on 
hand,” said one of the men, going up to the recumbent hero 
and roughly shaking him by the shoulder. 

Notwithstanding the profound nature of the slumber into 
which he was plunged. Big Horn, from long habit, awoke 
almost at a touch. His eyelids unsealed themselves with a 
snap, revealing the eyes, bright, clear, and alert, beneath, 
and the next instant he was on his feet. 

^‘Nothin’ like a long sleep for a tired man, captain,” said 
he, stretching his vast frame, and dissipating the last shadow 
of oblivion with a tremendous yawn. 

‘"Long!” exclaimed Button;* "‘why, my good fellow, you 
have hardly slept two hours.^^ 


HOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


109 


^^Mebbe so, cap, but I sleep fast. But I see what^s up,^' 
—casting his eyes to the heavens— ‘"we're bound to have a 
storm." 

""What do you think of it?" asked the young man, 
anxiously. 

"‘Lots of wind, and thunder, an’ lightnin’, but nary rain," 
was the reply, after a careful scrutiny of the heavens. ""It's 
gittin' darker'n a wolf's den; but we must put out that ere 
camp-fire, an' git in the bosses among the rocks." 

"•Do you think they will attack again to-night?” 

""Like enough; they couldn't have a better night fur it; 
only it’s better fur us than fur them, I calkerlate." 

"‘But how can the balloon come to our assistance during a 
tempest?" ° 

""Oh, bless yer royal heart, cap! ole Max don't keer fur 
storms. He kinder glories in 'em, he does." 

"‘But some of our men," said Dutton, hesitatingly, for he 
was about to mention the greatest trial he had been sub- 
jected to since the fight, ""some of them seem to have lost 
spirits, pd— and propose to retreat under cover of the 
night, without having accomplished the object of our ex- 
pedition." 

"‘What! cut an' run?" thundered the hunter; ""cut an' 
run an' leave the lettle gal, the Prairie Blossom, to shift fur 
herself.^" 

""Yes; and though I tell them that if we only hold out for 
twelve hours longer we are sure to have a detachment from 
Fort Benton, they still " 

""Who dares to think of retreat?" interrupted Big Horn, 
in a voice of thunder, and turning upon the rest of the de- 
voted band with hashing eyes. ""I, fur my part, am here to 
go in and win, or bust!" 

Thei*e was no reply to this withering challenge, nor was 
there thereafter heard any further talk about retreat. 

The fires were put out, the horses gathered in, and after 
posting the necessary sentinels, they lay down upon their 
arms; but scarcely to sleep. The storm put that out of the 
question. For hours and hours the hurricane blew with 
unabated fury, and though there was no rain, the lightning 
flashed, the thunder rolled and burst in almost a continual 
peal, and in the intervals between the more terrific crashes 
they could hear the echoing fall of the great trees in the 
canons and gorges. 


110 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Toward morning the thunder and electric flashes ceased, 
and the wind almost died away, but the sky remained as 
black as ink. 

Still there was no sign of a fresh attack, until at last the 
brush fires again began to glitter upon the outer plain, and 
the sentinels came running in with the report that all the 
Indians were on the move, and evidently preparing for an 
assault. 

^Tt’s an old foohs dodge of these ere Blackfeet Injins, 
said Big Horn, ^‘to build fires to show ^em the way to fight, 
an^ make fust- rate marks of themselves. Let ^em come on, 
cap, we are ready. 

The brush-fires began to cast a lurid glow through the 
gloom, and in addition to this the whole northern heavens 
began to gleam with a brilliant, ruddy hue from one of 
those electric causes which occasionally accompany, or im- 
mediately follow, these dry hurricanes in the North West 
during the spring months. 

‘^There they come!^' at length shouted one of the men, 
and they could see the long, dusky lines of the savage war- 
riors, filing toward the narrow pass, riding about ten or 
twelve abreast, and their weapons glittering in the ghastly 
light. 

^ ‘Keep cool! called out the lieutenant; “theyfil find our 
barricade a little more troublesome to pass than they did this 
morning. 

This was quite true, the hunters having spent several 
hours in felling the fir-trees across the pass, so that even 
outside of the barricade first built, there was a space of per- 
haps thirty feet covered with the trunks and branches of 
trees carefully trimmed in a pointed manner, to repel ap- 
proach, and through which it was next to impossible for a 
horseman to press his way. 

“Thar’s one leetle mistake we’ve make, I hope they won’t 
find out,” muttered Big Horn, through his clenched teeth. 

“What is it?’’ said Dutton, who had overheard him. 
“But never mind, I see what you mean,” with a meaning 
glance from the heaped up fir-boughs to the distant fires. 

“That’s it; but don’t let the men know it. Now fur a 
fust shot.” 

Big Horn reared his giant frame above the tree trunks 
and threw his gun to his shoulder. Every one smiled in- 
credulously, for, besides the garish, uncertain light, the 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Ill 


front rank of the advancing Indians was still almost a 
thousand yards away. 

But crack! rang the rifle almost at the same instant that 
its butt touched the hunter’s shoulder, and one of the tallest 
chieftains was seen to throw up his arms and plunge forward 
over his pony’s head. 

Again and again did Big Horn reload and fire with the 
same unerring and terrible effect, and as the line drew 
nearer, the rest of the band tried their hands at sharpshoot- 
ing, doing more or less execution, until the order was given 
to reserve fire until the enemy fairly charged. 

They had not long to wait. 

When within two or three hundred yards of the barricade 
they suddenly put spurs to their ponies and dashed up at 
full speed, sounding their war-whoops and waving their 
weapons as they came. 

Of course they were taken by surprise by the preparations 
that had been made to receive them — probably having ex- 
pected to find nothing more than a handful of worn-out, 
desperate fellows, incapable of offering any determined re- 
sistence — and were unable to accomplish anything. 

They received volley after volley, poured into their ranks 
with murderous precision, their ponies bruised and lacerated 
their knees and breasts against the stiff, sharpened fir 
boughs, rearing and plunging with pain and affright, and 
the few warriors who dismounted and endeavored to force 
their way through the labyrinth on foot, never lived to re- 
turn. 

These were the fresher Indians who had taken no part in 
the affray of the morning, and as those behind, pressed 
upon them in solid masses, and they found themselves en- 
tirely hemmed in with the mountain wall on one hand, the 
piver — too deep to ford — on the other, and the bayonet 
like fir-boughs in front, where they were mowed down like 
sheep by the deadly breech-loaders of the hunters, while 
many of them were forced into the rushing waters and com- 
pelled to swim for their lives. 

^^Back! back!” yelled the renegade, forcing his way 
through the bewildered redskins, and seeing, too late, the 
snare into which they had so foolishly blundered. 

He dashed to and fro, waving his sword, shouting himself 
hoarse, and at length got the line in full retreat out of 


112 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


range, but not without considerable demoralization and the 
loss of many of the flower of the tribe. 

The hunters gave a tremendous cheer — Big Horn alone 
was silent, 

^^Wait an^ see,’^ said he, in answer to the questioning 
wonder his comrades cast upon him. Then turning to 
Dutton: ^"Have all the blankets of the command got to- 
gether, said he; ^^soak ^em in the river, and lay "’em over 
the barricade." 

Dutton was quick to catch his meaning, and gave the 
necessary order at once. There was a good supply of blank- 
ets in the band, for they also had those of such of their 
companions who would never need them again, and tlie 
order was soon carried out, the blankets being thoroughly 
soaked, and then spread out and fastened down as securely 
as the brief time would admit over the sharp branches of 
the barricade. 

They had scarcely completed the work before they were 
made to recognize the shrewdness and foresight that had 
suggested it, for the Indians again advanced, this time 
more warily and fewer abreast than before, each man in the 
front rank carrying a blazing brand gathered from the brush 
flres. 

The scene was a wild and weird one, never to be forgot- 
ten by the beholder — the savage array, the hideous cries 
and gestures, the flickering torches lighting up the grim 
and painted faces and forms with a ghastly gleam. But the 
little band, nothing daunted, continued to pour in their 
deadly volleys, while the brands which the Indians man- 
aged to throw upon the barricade soon smoked themselves 
out upon the wet blankets, harmlessly enough, though the 
steam and smoke that were blown into the defenders^ faces 
were far from pleasant. 

But a portion of the Indians in the van, exasperated at 
being foiled a second time, gathered themselves together 
and made a rush upon the defenses wdth some success, for 
the blankets which had protected the works from confla- 
gration served also to blunt the sharp points of the jagged 
boughs, and enable the ponies to leap forward in and 
among them. 

‘"Upon them! Give "em .no time to breathe!" shouted 
their leader, suiting the action to the word, by leaping half 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


113 


through the obstruction on his powerful horse, whence a 
score or more braves followed him. 

Of course the foremost of these assailants were ruthlessly 
shot down, horse and rider, but as they fell their bodies 
and the blankets combined, served to render the way less 
difficult for the passage of those behind; and slowly, little 
by little, and in the teeth of the galling fire, which they 
could return to little advantage, fought their way up to the 
original barricade. 

Again the gallant band seemed pushed to the wall, and in 
spite of Big Horne’s desperate valor, of the heroism of all, 
their hopes still lower and lower ebbed, and some of them 
were already beginning to club their guns, when the 
thunder-storm broke forth anew. The electric illumination 
of the heavens sank lower along the northern horizon 
verge, overhead, and elsewhere, the sky was inky black, and 
tremendous peals shook the solid earth beneath their feet, 
as if in scornful mockery of the feebleness of man^s engines 
of war. 

Suddenly there was one awfnl crash, the inky curtain 
directly overhead was rent in twain, and a spectacle was 
afforded which caused all the combatants to pause upon 
their arms. 

It was the balloon, the Wind Specter, descending through 
the cloud-rack, ringed and wreathed with electric fire. 

The cloud-gap closed again, but the balloon seemed to be 
still luridly illuminated, and was sweeping down with a 
strange and spiral motion, which none of the beholders had 
ever witnessed in it before. 

And now from every side of the wind-borne car a quick 
and glittering radiance broke. It seemed surrounded by 
revolving wheels of sparkling fire that threw broad 
myriads of gleaming jets and powdery fire showers, that 
gave it a most weird and unearthly, and at the same time, a 
magnificent appearance. 

‘^Booglebooby! BoogleboobyP screamed many of the 
Indians, reeling back, while others resumed the fight only 
in a spiritless, mechanical way, until their leader dashed 
among them, and reinspirited them with cheering shouts. 

‘‘Keep a good heart, friends,^’ cried Lieutenant Dutton, 
waving his sword. “You see our balloon friends have not 
forgotten us.” 

“But, cap, what is them fire-wheels ffiout tfee oW gas- 


114 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


bag?” whispered Big Horn, perhaps sharing a little in the 
superstition of the savages. 

^'Nothing but fireworks, replied the other. ^‘Old Max 
told me he had a supply of them and would use them on 
the first opportunity. Those are what are called pin wheels. 
Ha! let us not be crushed before our friends arrive.'’^ 

The Indians were again upon them in great numbers, 
and now the hunters being compelled to expose themselves 
in hand-to-hand fight began to suffer severely. Big Horn, 
clubbing his rifle, sprang upon the barricade. Horse and 
rider rolled back before the far-sweeping flourish of that 
mighty arm; but it was only for a moment. 


CHAPTER XV. 

THE VENGEANCE OF THE SKIES. 

A friend in need, is a friend indeed! 

How brightens with hope the fading eye. 

How tightens the hand on the sinking brand 
At the very whisper that help is nigh! 

But a little moment and all would be over. Again the 
savages poured against, upon, and over the barricade; the 
hunters were giving away, but only inch by inch, and 
fighting with the dogged fury of despair; the renegade 
cheered on his followers with a revengeful shout, and their 
war-whoops clanged abroad like the hideous clamor of 
fiends for souls. 

^‘All is overl'^ gasped young Dutton, lowering his sword, 
and reeling back, while the blood streamed from an arrow- 
wound in his pallid cheek, and the shouts and din of tumult 
around him ‘ became nothing more than a confused and 
far-away ringing in his ears. 

‘^Cheer up!"^ roared Big Horn, supporting his sinking 
form with his left hand, while in his right, his long knife 
glistened, gilded with blood to the hilt. ^^Brace up! Jist 
look at the gas-bag 

These words seemed to arouse the young officer from the 
depths of the swoon into which he had been sinking from 
exhaustion and loss of blood, and he opened his eyes to see 
his comrades suddenly recover their ground and the Indians 
forced back beyond the defenses; while, not far above their 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


115 


heads, the balloon was surging and careering, like one mass 
of living, golden flame — literally surround.ed by a magnifi- 
cent pyrotechnic display. 

In the meantime, the thunder crashed, and the lightning 
gleamed, contributing their natural terrors to those of man; 
and through the fire-showers of whizzing pinwheels, 
Greek fire, flower pots, red lights, torpedoes, double- 
headed Dutchmen, triangles, Chinese blazes, turpentine 
balls, Siam swords, and rushing sky-rockets — furrowing 
the darkness with flame, and bursting into glittering stars 
or a rain of sparks — and all of the inventions known to 
the science of pyrotechny, glimpses were caught of the 
White Hermit, Fayaway, and Rocky Mountain Sam, loom- 
ing to unearthly proportions in the sublime radiance, and 
each of them armed with Roman candles about three feet 
long, with which they were peppering the dusky throng. 

The Indians, or by far the greater number of them, were 
completely cowed. 

In vain their leader raged among them, striking down 
the flying, chiding and taunting the helplessly motionless; 
urging, aiding, shouting at the top of his voice; the de- 
moralization of the majority was complete. A few who 
were not so much hemmed in by their fellows, put spurs 
to their ponies — which, in most cases, were almost as much 
terrified as their masters — and galloped away; others flung 
themselves from their saddles, buried their faces upon the 
ground, trembling and shaking in the extremity of their 
terror, while the majority grouped together, with discord- 
ant cries, feebly and individually protecting themselves as 
best they could from the attack of the hunters — which was 
now renewed with redoubled fury— or cringing and squall- 
ing as the burning tallow balls alighted and sizzled upon 
their crowns. 

"TIere, Rube Tenyck!"^ cried Firefoot, catching the bridle 
rein of his henchman, as the latter was spurring this way 
and that in a vain effort to escape; “help me to get these 
miserable wretches in fighting order. Shall the whole 
Blackfeet nation be put to flight by a handful of hunters? 
What, booby! did you never see fireworks before? Are you 
afraid?’^ 

‘‘N-n-no, n-n-no exactly afraid,” gasped Rube, with 
chattering teeth. ‘Tm only a leetle tired, cap. Yous-s-see 


116 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


He was interrupted by a burning tallow ball striking him 
full in the mouth, and while he was spluttering and cough- 
ing over its contents, another one of the same sort squashed 
on his ear, setting fire to his head dress of crow's plumes, 
and giving him an aspect decidedly more unique than pre- 
possessing, as, with a sounding yell, he leaped from the 
saddle and plunged headforemost in the river— whose tur- 
bid tide was already ruddily discolored with Indian blood- 
out of which he presently emerged, making for the opposite 
bank. 

The renegade had barely time to fully take in what had 
happened before another fire ball struck his horse on the 
neck, causing him to rear and plunge badly, and he just 
recovered himself securely in the saddle in time to see a 
brawny warrior upon one side of him stricken to death by a 
down-darting rocket-stick piercing his eye, while another 
on the other side received a double-headed Dutchman, 
which exploded directly under his chin, tearing away his 
necklace of bears' claws, and half of his throat with it. 

“Curses on them I Will nothing rid us of this fiery pest?" 
groaned the renegade, as a bullet seared his rugged cheek. 
“I must make one more effort to bring them to the scratch. 
We must not, dare not, give in to these wasps." 

But now, in addition to the rain of fire from above, and 
the rain of bullets from the deadly breech-loaders of the 
hunters, hand-grenades began to drop among the huddled 
braves, exploding with a great noise, and terrible effect ; 
but still Firefoot made his last effort to organize another 
charge. And such were his indomitable energy and mag- 
netic influence, that he would, doubtless, have succeeded, 
notwithstanding the superstitious fear that had taken pos- 
session of his followers, had not, at this moment, the pro- 
fessor launched upon their heads threeor four dozen of those 
fire-tailed, hissing fireworks, know as “serpents." 

Hither and thither, they darted and flew, hissing fum- 
ing, and spitting like veritable serpents, and now and then 
exploding with a burst of blazing sparks. 

This about completed the demoralization of the savages. 
They rushed in every direction, screaming with pain as well 
as terror, and their ponies became frantic, and almost un- 
manageable. 

Even the renegade saw that it would be useless to attempt 

to maintain their present poBition^ and as the entrance to 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


117 


the narrow strip between the mountain wall and the stream 
was still blocked up by an excited horde striving to force 
their way out upon the open plain, he directed the large 
body immediately surrounding him to follow, and at once 
plunged into Miry Fork and began to swim his horse across. 

The savages followed him, though rather timidly, and 
by the time he had reached the opposite shore, the whole 
surface of the stream was covered with their dusky figures, 
standing out with weird distinctness in the many hued 
radiance that fell around them, and making rather slow 
progress, for the victorious hunters continued to pepper 
them from the bank, and their ponies— poor swimmers at 
the best — had already had their powers severely taxed. 

^‘Quick, Saml’^ exclaimed the professor in the car above; 
^^roll over that barrel of coal-oil and bust out that bung. 
We’ll make it still hotter for some of these vermin before 
they get out of that stream.” 

Sam at once rolled out a barrel of petroleum — which old 
Max had taken care to provide himself with — over the hole 
in the bottom of the car, and had the bung out' in a jilfy, 
the oil rushing and spurting out in a stream as thick as a 
man^s wrist; and in a few minutes the surface of Miry 
Fork, a few yards above where the crossing was being 
made, was covered with the tawdy-colored liquid, which was 
speedily ignited by two or three shots from roman candles. 

The fire spread with the rapidity of thought; the whole 
surface blazed from bank to bank, and the doomed Indians, 
looking up the stream, suddenly faced a torrent of liquid 
fire, sweeping down upon them with frightful rapidity. 

It would be useless to describe the screams and shrieks of 
horror and despair that swelled upon the night. Even the 
renegade, secure as he was, with a few .others upon the far- 
ther bank, lost his presence of mind, and, springing from 
his saddle, raved up and down, stamping upon the ground, 
covering his face with his hands, and sobbing like a child. 

Upward of two^score of the Indians were overwhelmed in 
that burning wave. The cries of the scorched and frenzied 
ponies were even more dreadful to hear than the agonized 
slirieksof their riders; but their sufferings were soon over. 
It was simply a succession of piercing yells, stifled snorts, 
a wild throwing up of hands, as horse and rider, one by one 
disappeared in the sea of fire, and their bodies were whirled 
down in the rushing tide. 


118 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


But the oil soon burnt itself out, and the effulgence of 
the fireworks was rapidly fading from around the balloon. 

“Wall, Tve seed redskins wiped out purty fast afore, 
commented Big Horn, leaning upon his rifle, and wiping 
the perspiration from his brow; “but chop me in two ef 
that ain^t the wust I ever see.'’^ 

“It is horrible! horrible!^^ said Dutton, sinking down to 
rest upon a fir-log, while most of the command followed his 
example, reloading and firing, without rising, as opportunity 
offered. 

“But, hallo!’^ continued Big Horn; “whar’s the gas bag? 
Oh, thar she is, only I reckon the fire sizzles is '’bout gin 
out.'’^ 

He had no sooner spoken than a message fell among them 
from the car, and Dutton hastily picked it up, and by the 
light that still lingered from the burning oil, read it aloud: 

“Feiends: — The storm is over, and the day is beginning to break. 
If lyou can muster up sufficient strength, mount your horses and 
charge the enemy upon the open plain. 

“They still outnumber you four or five to one; but be not dismayed; 
we have not done with them yeti 

“Max Aiet, D. B. F. R. A. A.” 

^^To horse cried Dutton, staggering to his feet, white and 
exhausted as he was. “See! the dawn is indeed breaking; 
and we have seen what assistance can be rendered us by the 
balloon.'’^ 

A cheer — perhaps a little feeble, but ringing and hearty 
for all that — was the reply to this gallant order. 

The storm-cloud had disappeared, and the dawn was 
dimly lighting the east, when the brave little band left their 
fortified position, which they had defended so well and so 
long, and, dashing out of the narrow pass, thundered out 
upon the open plain, at the farther extremity of which the 
renegade, after recrossing the stream, had succeeded in get- 
ting together the fragments of his command, which still 
numbered over a hundred warriors, who were moving briskly 
about in the ruddy firelight still emitted by the burning 
brush-heaps. 

A yell of revenge arose from their ranks as they saw the 
mere handful of those composing the desperate charge, and, 
putting their ponies in motion, their line spread out like a 
fan, preparatory to surrounding and crushing the little band 
at one fell swoop, 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


119 


^^The fool-hardy fellows!^^ muttered the renegade between 
his teeth; ‘^success has turned their heads, and they are 
rushing to their doom/^ 

He was at the head of the line, and was awaiting the rush 
of the hunters with grim composure, when terrified cries 
from the rear and left flank caused him to turn. At first 
he rubbed his eyes, as if doubting their evidence. 

A lurning forest seemed to be moving upon them from 
the north-ivest! 

A second glance served to explain the phenomenon to be 
heaps of blazing brushwood, which, grappled and towed 
over the ground by lines reaching from the balloon, were 
being whirled upon them in crackling, blazing masses. 

But the Indians were too much terror-stricken to hazard 
a second glance at the appalling apparition. Do what he 
might to restrain them, many of them were already scam- 
pering away as fast as their jaded ponies could carry them, 
and the main line began to waver and reel. 

The next instant the blazing branches went whirling and 
flashing among them, and almost simultaneously the hun- 
ters struck their right flank with a terrific shock, waving 
their knives, raising their battle-shout, and bearing down 
everything before them. 

The next moment the whole body of the Indians was 
nothing more than a broken, panic-stricken horde, whose 
only object was a mad yearning to escape. Then, as the 
dawn brightened, there came the roll of a drum, and pres- 
ently, in the uncertain light, a number of mounted men 
arose from behind a distant hill, and directly after charged 
down upon the flying masses to the renewed beating of 
drums and the blare of bugles. 

The detachment from the fort had arrived, though tardily, 
tiud the overthrow of the Blackfeet was absolute and com- 
plete. 

'^All is over for the present, said the renegade. ^^Eube 
Tenyck, follow me.’' 

And, putting spurs to his Pawnee steed, Firefoot dashed 
away toward the mountains to the north, followed by the 
well-singed Kube Tenyek and a few warriors. 

Before the sun was an hour high, the detachment of 
troops — about twenty-five men, commanded by a sergeant — 
returned from the pursuit of the flying Indians, to find the 


120 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


hunters encamped upon the plain, preparing for their break- 
fast, and the balloon anchored near at hand. 

Mutual explanations and congratulations followed; but 
the appearance of the field thichly strewn with Indian slain, 
and of the near-running stream almost choked up with the 
carcasses of ponies and redskins, was eloquent enough of 
the desperate nature of the battle that had taken place, and 
the hunters were too tired and hungry to go into details. 


CHAPTER XVL 

THE CAPTIVE MAIDEN. 

Naught can restore the pallid cheek 
And sunken eye of captive maid 
But liberty ; the first fair streak 
Of dawn upon the dusky shade 
Of sorrows’ night is not more blest 
Than freedom to the sore-oppressed. 

The remnants of the quarter of bear-meat which the bal- 
loonists had provided for themselves on the previous morn- 
ing, had to be sacrificed in getting up a rather scanty 
breakfast for all hands; but Sam consoled himself with the 
remark that there was plenty more where that came from; 
and during the discussion of their repast, ample time was 
afforded for exchanging hasty notes of the recent fight. 

The troopers from the fort listened with amazement to 
accounts which surpassed anything they had ever dreamed 
of, and gazed upon the members of the little band, and 
especially upon the balloonists, with feelings akin to awe. 

" AVhat do you think of the roasting we gave the varmints 
on the river. Big Horn?^^ said Sam, gleefully, helping him- 
self to another bit of roasted bear. 

^AVust I ever see!'^ replied the bravo, beginning to. fill 
his short pipe. ^‘You remember, Sam” — puff, puff, from 
the pipe — ‘^that ere scrimmage we had two years ago” — 
puff, puff — ‘^with the Cheyennes on tfie Yallerstone” — puff, 
puff, — ‘"nigh unto the big Rosebud Creek, whar I cleaned 
out Squattin' Elk an” — puff — “his pard” — puff — “Lone 
Wolf.” 

“Well, I should think I did.” 

“Wall, Sam,” — puff — “the ’fair o’ las’ night an’ yester- 
day”— puff, puff— “laid over that two to one.” 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


121 


^^Ay; a dozen to one.^' 

don^t say that, pard. Yer see 

Big Horn, contrary to his want, was evidently ripening 
for a long yarn, and as the breakfast was over, the professor 
made bold to interrupt him. 

“We must make another ascent at once, said he. “You 
fellows can stay here all day — and I reckon yoiUll have {ill 
you can do in turning a portion of this plain into a burying- 
ground,'’^ he added, looking around upon the ghastly 
mementoes of the fight, which littered and heaped the 
ground in every direction; but we must continue the prose- 
cution of our search, and bring the Prairie Blossom into 
camp, if possible.’’^ 

Lieutenant Dutton’s eyes gleaned. 

“But are not you and Sam and Fayaway also worn out?’’ 
he asked, repressing the smile of selfish pleasure which the 
mention of his sweetheart’s name had given him. 

‘^^Not quite; and if we are we can have ample time to rest 
cur limbs in the car. Worn out? Excuse me, sir, but pale 
and tired as you look yourself, you can. know little of ex- 
treme fatigue. Why, in the summer of 1810 , when I was 
crossing the icy barriers of the great Antarctic Ocean, you’d 
have thought ” 

“All aboard!” roared Sam, springing to his feet, and 
making a bee-line for the balloon.. “Come, Fay away! Come, 
professor! you know yer said yourself there was no time to 
spare.” 

The professor was a little huffy at having his unlucky 
story nipped in the bud, but he had grown somewhat used 
to it by this time, and followed his companions as they 
sprang into their car. But before they had tripped anchor. 
Big Horn again strode toward them, and again patted the 
Indian maiden patronizingly under the chin, while she 
hung her pretty head in silence. 

“Beetle gal,” said he, gently, “d’ye remember my say in’ 
aforetime as how you was a leetle brick?” 

“Yes; Fayaway much remember the white chief’s 
words.” 

“Wall, you are a brick!” repeated Big Horn, emphati- 
cally; “an’ not only that, but you air a fust-class, up-an’-up, 
gold-beveled, silver brick! Who says she ain’t no brick?’’ 
he exclaimed, raising his voice, and wheeling around with a 
defiant glare at the rest. 


122 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


As no one seemed disposed to question the accuracy of his 
statement, he resumed his pipe and retired to his former 
seat at the fire, with a self-satisfied air. 

The next moment the professor tore up the anchor, and 
with a parting cheer from her crew, the balloon shot up 
into the cool, clear atmosphere. 

^'The wind is almost directly in our favor, said the pro- 
fessor, giving the fan- wheel half a dozen turns. ‘'We must 
make directly for that steep range to the north. I saw the 
renegade, and a dozen or more with him, ride out of the 
battle in that direction. You may rest assured that he has 
hid away his captive in some of its gorges.’’^ 

But Sam only heard him in a dreamy, drowsy way, for 
entirely overcome, he had wrapped himself in a blanket and 
was fast sinking into unconsciousness on the bottom of the 
car, while Fayaway had followed his example in another 
corner, and was already sound asleep, with her head bowed 
upon her breast. 

“Well, well, they do indeed need rest,^^ muttered the old 
man, upon whom the loss of sleep seemed to have no effect 
whatever; and bringing out his telescope he proceeded to 
scrutinize the country over which they were passing with an 
earnest gaze: 

It was some time before his observations were rewarded 
by the re-appearance of any living objects other than herds 
of buffalo and a few fiocks of antelope; but at last, at the 
end of about an hour, he espied Firefoot and his few re- 
maining adherents pushing their way over the hills. 

“Ha! there they arel'Hie muttered; “and, thank Heaven! 
we will be before them in reaching the poor captive; that is, 
if we can discover her whereabouts. 

He was about to arouse his companions, but, upon a mo- 
ments refiection, decided to let them rest still longer. 

The car now began to. swing over the jagged spurs of the 
mountain region. It was evident that Firefoot and his fol- 
lowers were aware of the presence of the balloon, and they 
probably guessed the intentions of its occupants, for they 
could be seen spurring and whipping their jaded animals to 
still greater speed. 

But they soon faded from view, and the professor was ab- 
sorbed in piercing and exploring the many gorges, canons, 
and little valleys over which the balloou was passing. 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


123 


At last a sight met his gaze which caused him to raise an 
irrepressible shout of joy. 

It was a little Indian village in the center of a deep canon, 
hemmed in on every side by lofty precipices and towering 
peaks. There were not more than a dozen lodges altogether, 
and most of these were of the rudest description, even for 
aboriginal architecture; but situated a little apart from the 
rest of the overhanging bank of a little brook that veined 
the gorge like a silver thread, was a tiny house, perhaps 
merely constructed of a few uprights and light beams, with 
the skins of wild animals stretched over them; but, never- 
theless, resembling a civilized habitation in shape and build. 
A few Indians — apparently squaws and little children — were 
lounging about the lodges on the edge of the brook; but the 
object which held the fascinated gaze of the old aeronaut, 
and which had called the joyful cry to his lips was a slight 
female figure, dressed in white, and standing at the door of 
this very little house. 

The old fellow gave one more long, reassuring gaze, and 
then began to dance about the car, slapping his shriveled 
hands together, croaking out, and waving his peaked cap 
aloft like one possessed. 

“Sarn! Fayaway! getup!^^ he cried, shaking first one and 
then the other until they raised their sleepy heads. ‘^‘Eouse 
yourselves! The lost one^s found — the Prairie Blossom is 
right at our feet!^^ 

^^Eh, what?” blurted Sam, rubbing his eyes and stagger- 
ing to his feet, while little Fayaway, upon looking over the 
edge of the car, gave a scream at recognizing the figure be- 
low. 

^‘Jerk that throttle-valve!” cried the professor; ^‘'we must 
just light down there an^ scoop her up before the renegade 
gets there, and he ainT far behind.” 

Sara pulled the valve, and dropping out of the influence 
of the air-current that had borne it along so swiftly into a 
stirless atmosphere, the balloon rapidly descended to the 
earth. 

^^Hooray! they see us comin^,” cried Sam, as considerable 
commotion in the village showed that they were discovered, 
the squaws and young ones running hither and thither as if 
in great alarm, while the figure in white waved its hand to 
them, and gave other signs of recognition and encourage- 
ment. 


124 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


^'It’s no difference whether they see us or not/^said Max; 
^'they’re nothing but squaws. 

^‘Ay, but theiVs one of ’em makin’ tracks for the timber 
as if she was goin^ for help/^ said Sam. ‘^‘^Don^t let^s count 
our royal American bald-headed eagles afore they^ve busted 
their egg-shells. 

His conjecture was correct. 

When the balloon had descended to within two or three 
hundred yards from the ground, the squaw referred to re- 
appeared from the timber, followed by six brawny fellows 
Avho had evidently seen the balloon often enough before to 
be pretty well used to it; at any rate, they did not now share 
in the panic into which the very appearance of the dreaded 
^‘Booglebooby^^ was wont to throw the great majority of 
their tribe, and from which even now the Indian women 
were hiding themselves in abject terror. 

‘AVell, I reckon we’ll have a putty easy job after all,” 
said Sam, quietly examining his breech-loader; ^^only I’m 
gettin’ sort o’ tired of shootin’ Injuns. I’d like to "kill a 
buffaler or an antelope, just for variety, you know.” 

As the balloon swept down nearer to the earth. Miss 
Chapman — for it was indeed she — ran directly under their 
line of descent, screaming with delight, while little Faya- 
way replied to her, accompanying her words with every 
demonstration of rejoicing. 

‘^Fear not, lady; we will not desert you this time,” cheer- 
ily called out the old man. 

^‘Yes; we’ll scoop you up this time, or feed the crows,” 
cried Sam. 

Overcome by the sudden prospect of deliverance, the poor 
captive’s exuberant joy gave place to sobs, and burying her 
face in her hands she burst into hysterical tears. 

Before she fairly recovered herself, and while the car was 
yet fifty or more feet above her head, she was in the grasp 
of one of the Indians. She screamed and struggled to free 
herself, but he held her in his powerful grasp as easily as 
though she were a child and swiftly bore her toward the 
little house she had fied from. 

'^Hands off, if you please,” muttered Eocky Mountain 
Sam, bringing his breech-loader to his shoulder. 

There was a sharp report, the Indian dropped in his 
tracks, shot through the head, and the captive was again 
free; but only momentarily, for another savage at once 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


126 


snatched her up and bore her to the little house, into which 
he unceremoniously thrust her, closing the door, and ap- 
parently fastening it on the outside, and then dodging be- 
hind a tree in order to escape from the unerring marksman- 
ship that had proved so fatal to his comrade. 

His companions had also run to cover, and the trees 
growing too thickly for the balloon to operate successfully 
against them, the aeronauts found themselves at a loss to 
know what to do. 

‘‘We're euchered for the present, that is certain, said the 
professor, rubbing his bald head meditatively. “You see if 
either one of us should venture upon the ground, he would 
be sure to be picked off by one of those devils in the timber. 

“Well,"’^ said Sam, throwing out a line and grapnel, “we 
can anyway slash around a bit, an^ not let Ym forget wehe 
about the ranch. 

As he spoke he caught the peak of one of the rickety 
lodges with his grapnel and jerked it up in the air, revealing 
one of the squaws cowering upon the ground, with her baby 
in her arms, both of them apparently half-dead with 
affright. 

Having tossed the wigwam endwise into the running 
brook, he jerked up another, and still another, in much the 
same manner, until they were all unroofed, revealing in one 
instance, besides the four squaws huddled together, a great 
copper kettle, filled with some sort of soup, which was sim- 
mering and steaming over a slow fire. Having caught the 
handle of this with his grappling-iron, the discharge of a 
little ballast enabled him to empty its contents through the 
tree-tops, in the hope of scalding out one or more of the 
skulkers underneath. 

He was apparently successful, for there was a sudden 
squeal, followed by one of the redskins staggering into view 
shrugging and rubbing his bare shoulders at a great rate; 
and before he could regain the cover of the timber Sam had 
dropped the line, brought his gun to the shoulder, and the 
Indian was sped on his way to the happy hunting grounds. 

“Two out of four ainT bad, considerin' we ainT been at it 
over half-an-hour,’" said Sam. “Ah, if we could only lift 
up that little house into which they've locked the lady, it 
would be something like, wouldn't it?’^ 

“Yes; but, of course, it must be fastened to the ground,” 
said the professor. “Nevertheless, I can see the captive 


126 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


signaling to ns from the one little window at the side, 
though it’s hardly big enough for her to stick her head out 
of.’^ ^ 

"'She’s wavin’ a rag at us,” said Sam. "What can she 
mean?” 

"Oh!” cried Fayaway, seizing his arm, and speaking with 
much vehemence, "droppy downy much iron big thing. 
Prairie Blossom wantee to much say some things.” 

"Well, why the devil don’t she say ’em, then?” said Sam, 
obtusely. "We’re in ear-shot, ain’t we?” 

"‘Oh! you much stupid big foolish goose!” cried the 
maiden, laughing, and snatching the line from his hand she 
lowered the grapnel directly before the little window, where 
a fair hand reached out and drew it in; and when it was re- 
leased again something white was attached to it. 

"By jingo! you’re smarter’n me, Fayaway!” said the hun- 
ter, admiringly. "It’s a message!” 

And he began to pull it up from the ground; but before 
he had got it half way up, there was heard a series of hoarse 
shouts from one of the many narrow gorges opening into the 
canon, and the next moment Firefoot, the renegade, with 
his adherents at his heels, dashed into view, their staggering 
steeds and generally woe-begone appearance attesting to the 
extreme haste they had made. 

One of the Indians rushed out from the timber and 
communicated hurriedly with the chief, probably informing 
him that the captive was securely fastened in the house, for 
he appeared to be greatly relieved. 

But as Sam handed the lines to Fayaway, and, bringing 
his gun to bear again, emptied one of the saddles in a 
breath, the entire party saw the prudence of seeking cover 
at once, and were speedily out of sight. 

Sam sank back in the car with a bitter groan and a 
curse. 

"Now, we are done for,” he muttered, "and must loaf 
around here all day.” 

"But no — no — readie papie,” cried Fayaway, who had 
drawn up the grapnel, which Sam at the moment had for- 
gotten all about, and now thrust into his hand a bit of 
linen which had been fastened to the iron. 

"Oh, yes!” cried the hunter; "here, professor, you can 
make out these pot-hooks and hangers better than I. It’s 
written in red ink, ain’t it?” 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


127 


^^Poor — poor child said the old man, impressively, 
closely examining the fragment handed him; ^ht is writ- 
ten with a pointed stick, and in her oivn Uoodr He then 
read as follows: 

“Dear Friends: — In Heaven’s name do not desert the poor captive, 
this time, however dark her outlook may seem, 

“I see that your noble balloon is strong enough to lift the Indian 
lodges from the ground with apparent ease. 

“ Why not try to raise the little house in which I am imprisoned? It is 
very light, the sides and roof being made of nothing but dried skins, 
and its floor is not fastened into the ground. 

“Mollie Chapman.” 

^‘^By crimminy! why didn^t we think of that afore 
cried Rocky Mountain Sam, again flinging the grappling- 
iron overboard. 

But now— whether they suspected his intention or not, 
which was, however, doubtful, considering the very sub- 
stantial appearance of the house in question — the Indians 
began to open fire upon the balloon from the timber. 

Bullets and arrows whizzed uncomfortably near the 
occupants of the car, and one of the shafts cutting the line 
cleverly in two, caused the grapnel to fall, wdth a clanging 
rattle, to the ground. 

A little shriek from the interior of the house showed the 
painful interest taken by its occupant in the proceedings. 

^‘Ah! but she doesn^t know that we\e got a few more left 
of the same sort,'’^ muttered Sam, making another grapnel 
fast to the severed line, and tying the other end to the car. 
^‘Professor — Fayaway — be ready with them sand-bags when 
I sing out.-'" 


CHAPTER XVH. 

THE EESCUE — AN EXCITING BUFFALO HUNT. 

Sweet is the hour to eyes long wont 
To breathe the air through prison bars. 

When new baptized at freedom’s font, 

Above him gleam the untrammeled stars. 

And every wind that sweeps the land 
Is like a soft, caressing hand. 

Rocky Mountain Sam again swung down the grapnel, and 
after considerable difficult angling, succeeded in making it 


128 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


fast to some of the stout thongs that went over the roof of 
the little house^ binding down and seaming the skins of 
which it was composed, there being just about sufficient 
line to perform the operation successfully. 

^^Now, heave out your ballast!"^ he cried, letting go the 
line, and he himself bending to assist at that work. 

Overboard flew the sand-bags, and upward strained and 
tugged the great balloon with all its power. 

The house resisted at flrst, then trembled and swayed 
from side to side, and then rose bodily from the ground, 
while the white hand at the window continued to wave en- 
couragement, and the occupants of the car set up a great 
shout of triumph. 

But Firefoot and his companions seeing the stratagem 
when too late to avoid it, rushed out of cover. Only one 
redskin, however, succeeded in grasping the lower part of 
the house. 

“Hands off!^^ growled Sam, bringing his rifle to the 
shoulder, and the next instant the warrior relinquished his 
hold with a bullet in his brain, and the little house swung 
clear and high from the ground. 

“More ballast!” delightedly cried the hunter, dropping 
another Indian in his tracks. before the car rose out of range. 
“By cracky! if this ainT goin' into the real estate business 
in a new fashion, I like to know what is. We\e got a pre- 
emption claim on that shanty or there's no smoke in the 
devil’s pipe.” 

They were now soaring very high, and looking below they 
could see the renegade and his followers standing amid the 
ruins of the village in silent despair. 

“It is rather hard on the rascal,” commented the White 
Hermit, “to have fought so long and desperately — to have 
waded knee-deep in blood for his object, and now to see his 
prize wafted away from under his very nose.” 

“I reckon he'll make another fight for it some time or 
another,” said the young hunter, beginning to climb over 
the side of the car. “The force he brought out at Miry 
Fork ain't a patchin' to the army of redskins he can raise in 
the course of time. How I'm goin' down to bring up the 
Prairie Blossom. Be ready to lower another line when I 
sing out that I want it. Here goes!” 

“Me go, too!” cried the Indian maiden, springing forward 
excitedly; but Sam laughingly motioned her back, and she. 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM* 129 

together with old Max, was compelled to watch him in his 
descent. 

Sam was almost as much at home on a rope as a sailor. 
He slipped lightly down over the yawning abyss, and in 
a few seconds was standing upon the roof of the house. To 
cut out a skylight with his hunting-knife was but the work 
of another minute, and in one more he had dropped through 
the liole and was standing before the occupant. 

Miss Chapman uttered a scream of joy, and almost threw 
herself into his arms. She then staggered back and sank 
upon one of the stools that went to make up the scanty 
furniture of the single room, and turned white, pressing her 
hand to her heart. The joy was too much for her. 

^‘Come, my dear girl!’"’ cried Sam, cheerily, ^^your troubles 
are over at last, and all is well. That^s right, he added, 
as she burst into tears; ^T never cry myself, but I know that 
that sort of salt water is sometimes precious good for a 
woman. And he went on to tell her that her father and 
lover were both well, as well as other items which could not 
fail to cheer her, and making no mention of the many lives 
her rescue had cost. 

f^Korgive my weakness!'^ said she, presently, wiping her 
eyes and standing up. ^^Oh! how can I thank you, you 
fine, noble fellow?^'’ 

^‘By not saying anything about it,^^ was the hearty reply. 
^^Oome, now, you must prepare to be hauled up into the 
car. Little Fayaway is there, and she- wants to see the 
Prairie Blossom so much I fear she will jump overboard, or 
out of her skin, before you get there. 

Upon his calling out at the aperture in the roof a rope 
was lowered to him, which he made fast under the young 
lady’s shoulders, at the same time bidding her to have no 
fear when she should find herself suspended between heaven 
and earth. 

In a few minutes the Prairie Blossom was safely lodged in 
the car, with little Fayaway sobbing for joy on her breast, 
and Sam was not long in following her. 

“Are you ready to cut the house adrift?” said the pro- 
fessor, unsheathing his knife, when Sam hastily stayed his 
hand. 

“What would you do?” he cried. “The house contains a 
bed, table, an’ other fixins-, an’ we find no trouble in carryin’ 


130 


- KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


it. AVhy not take it back to camp for the gals to sleep in, 

ehr 

"‘I have no objections/^ said the professor, ‘^only it looks 
rather ridiculous to be seen toting a house through the sky, 
you know.'^ 

“RidiculousP^ repeated Sam, with a regular horse-laugh. 
‘'Why, old man, if all the capers as we\e seed this gas-bag 
cut up under our direction, would have seemed as real as 
our flyin' away with this shanty, I'd give you my head, or, 
what's even worse, I'd be willin' to listen to that ere long- 
winded yarn of yourn 'bout the South Pole. Bust me if I 
wouldn't! Ladies, you'd best kiver your shoulders with 
some of these wraps. We're about three miles high, and it 
air cold." 

They willingly followed his advice; and then the whileom 
captive, with Fayaway's hand still clasped in hers, looked 
over the side of the car in a sort of stupor of surprise. She 
had never made an ascent in a balloon before, and, apart 
from the novelty and beauty of the wonderful panorama 
that fleeted below, as they drifted majestically southward, 
she as yet could scarcely realize her good fortune in escaping 
from her captivity — which, by the way, had not been so 
harsh as she might have expected. 

They left the mountains behind, and below them stretched 
the broad and rolling plains. 

"What are those little black specks moving about upon 
the ground?" she dreamily asked of Sam. 

"Buflaler!" cried he, with enthusiasm; "an’ I reckon 
they'll have some of it l3roilin' for us by the time we reach 
the camp. Ain’t you hungry?" 

"V^ery." 

"So am I. By hooky! I feel as if I could eat a hull hump 
of one of them critters. But really. Miss Mollie, they 
liaven't been starvin' you — them chaps — have they?" he 
asked, in an earnest tone. 

"Oh, no," she replied. "Indeed, without considering 
the fatigue I was forced to undergo in accompanying them 
in their headlong flights, they have not been altogether un- 
kind to me. Even my principal captor has never been 
wanting in respect toward me, bad as he is." 

"The infernal villain 1" exclaimed old Max, wdio had been 
within ear-shot; "but never mind. Miss Chapman. He 
will receive his deserts." 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


131 


*‘l believe him to be insane/' said the young lady, quietly. 

^^AVhat!'' exclaimed Sam, in astonishment. 

But the professor said: 

^ ^Indeed, miss, I have more than once heard your father 
express the same opinion, even in the heat of his anger. 

“I cannot think otherwise,^' said she. ^'During all of the 
interviews I have had with him during my captivity, he has 
every now and them broken off from the thread of his dis- 
course, and began to rave about his mother in the wildest, 
strangest, and most unaccountable manner. I believe his 
mother was made a captive by the Indians many years ago, 
and that he has been seeking for her ever since. He seemed 
to forget all about my presence when he began to harp upon 
this string, and from his ravings I gathered that the hunter. 
Big Horn, has some knowledge of the mother's whereabouts, 
but will not inform the son, out of revenge, or from some 
such motive." 

Here a joyful exclamation from Bayaway attracted the 
attention of all. 

^‘Lookee, Prairie Blossom! lookee, white campee all right 
very much," she cried. 

‘‘^Yes; there is our camp, sure enough, " said the professor, 
directing Mollie's gaze to some white specks on the southern 
horizon. ^Ht is not yet noon, and we have not been away 
from it for more than four hours. In half an hour more 
■" doubtless be with your — I mean with Lieutenant 



‘■^I can hardly realize it," murmured the young girl, her 
happy tears flowing afresh. 

‘‘Yes; an' jist look at the buffaler!" shouted the irre- 
pressible Sam, dancing about in the car, and clapping his 
hands. “Why, they’re browsin' within a mile, or two of the 
camp. Even the battle of yesterday and last night don’t 
seem to have scared 'em away a bit." 

“A battle! has there been a battle?" said Miss Chapman, 
turning pale. 

“Yes, miss, and a very severe one," said old Max, gravely. 

And then, thinking it best to prepare her at once for 
many of the ghastly scenes which she would necessarily have 
to encounter, he gave her, in as few words as possible, the 
details of the conflicts that had taken place. 

“And all these torrents of human blood shed for me!" she 
exclaimed, in horror. “Oh, woe, woe is me." 


132 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


niy dear child, it would have been shed sooner or 
later, whether you had been stolen or not,^^ said the pro- 
fessor, soothingly. “The Blackfeet devils have been pre- 
paring for a war for months; and, thank Heaven! they have 
received a blow from which they will not recover in a hurry. 
More than half their fighting force was engaged in these 
battles, and fully three-fourths of those were slain or 
wounded. 

“Ay; but of our own party 

“Well,^"’ was the rather rueful reply, “there is no denying 
that our gallant band suffered severely. But one thing I 
can say. Miss Mollie’"’ — a little more gallantly intoned than 
one might have expected on the part of the philosophical 
hero of the Antarctic ice-barriers — “should Lieutenant 
Dutton still meet with your favor in the future, he wdll fur- 
nish only another illustration of the truth of the old say- 
ing: ‘^Faint heart never won fair lady,^ for a braver and 
more devoted young officer never lived. 

The fair girl blushed, but Sam saved her further con- 
fusion by exclaiming: 

“Jerk the throttle valve, professor; weTe directly over 
the camp.'’^ 

The occupants of the camp — which had been removed 
from the immediate vicinity of the battle-field to a little 
hill that overbrowed a running brook of clear and spark- 
ling water — had seen the return of the balloon from afar 
off, and had passed many curious speculations upon the 
nature of the strange object dangling at the end of the car; 
but when they made it out unmistakably to be nothing less 
than a house, their surprise knew no bounds. 

“Loosen that ere grapnel,"*^ sung out Sam, as the little 
edifice scraped along over the rough ground. And then, 
when this had been done: “Look out for the anchor below 
there, and be ready to land the ladies.'’^ 

Ladies! 

The word brought the tired hunters — especially Lieu- 
tenant Dutton — to their feet as if by magic. 

In a few minutes thereafter the air voyagers had landed, 
and Mollie Chapman was sobbing and weeping in her 
lover’s arms. 

Such a shout as swelled abroad from that hunter band 
at the sight of the precious prize for whom its gallant 
members had toiled, and suffered, and fought, and bled, 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


133 


was probably never beard before in the wilderness of Mon- 
tana. But such meetings can better be imagined than de- 
scribed. 

* * ^ * :j« 

pard/'’ said Big Horn, grasping his pupiBs hand 
with the force of a grizzly^s paw, ^^yoiBve did bully well, ef 
I say it as ouglitnh to. An^ how^s the leetle gal — the silver 
brick, eh?'"’ he continued, turning to Fayaway, who bash- 
fully hung behind her lover, clutching him by the skirt of 
his hunting-frock. 

‘^Look here. Big Horn,^^ said Sam, coloring a little, and 
speaking in a low voice, “1 wish you wouldu^t, d\e under- 
stand 

•AVouldn’t what, pard?” 

^‘Why, be so free and easy with Fayaway, said the other, 
hesitatingly. ‘‘You see she don^t like it an’ no more do 1, 
and— — 

But here, as it gradually dawned upon Big Horn that 
his friend was actually growing jealous of him, he inter- 
rupted him with such thunders of laughter that the ground 
seemed to tremble under their feet. 

‘‘Oh, ho, hoT"’ roared the giant, “that eiVs too good, 
pard. Why, why, I mean ter guv her away to you, when 
you, aW the bride, aW the parson, an'’ all hands, is ready. 
Ho, ho, hor 

‘All right, then,^^ said Sam, considerably mollified, and 
looking a little shamefaced. “Colne Fayaway, let us go 
up to the fire, aW see if theyVe got any grub; I’m half- 
starved. WhatP^ he exclaiined, putting on a long face as 
he reached the viandless fire, “nary a sign of grub, when 
the bufialer air almost walkiW over you 

“No,^^ said one of the men, “and whaFs more, were 
all about as hungry as you; only the bosses is so banged up 
they couldn^t run down a prairie-dog.^' 

‘‘Here, professor!"” cried Sam; “we must take another 
hfist in the gas-bag, aW get some game. All hands are 
starviiB to death." 

“Very good,'’^ responded the old man, with alacrity. 
“Jump aboard, then. I must say the sight of them buffalo 
makes me feel a little peckish myself." 

“What are they going to do?" said Miss Mollie, who had 
strayed up with her lover in time to hear a few words that 
Jiad passed. ''Here, Fayaway, you're not to go; you're to 


134 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


stay with me now that I have got you. Surely, Charles, 
they can't hunt buffalo in a balloon 

‘‘Well I don't knoAv about that," replied the young officer, 
laughing; “I've seen so many wonderful performances with 
that old balloon I would not be prepared to deny its capacity 
of doing anything extraordinary or strange. I know at any 
rate, that Eocky Mountain Sam has already caught deer, 
grizzlies and panthers with it, so why not a lordly bison as 
well? But let us follow the rest of them to the summit of 
yon hummock, and view what takes place. We shall wit- 
ness some rare sport, depend upon it." 

When they reached the top of the hummock upon which 
the greater part of the party had already congregated, the 
balloon was already in the air, and careering toward the 
feeding herd, with the basket swinging about twenty feet 
from the ground, Sam getting ready his rifle and lariats, 
while the professor was working away at the fan-wheel; for 
the ground-wind was not exactly favorable to the sport. 

The buffalo were feeding in immense numbers. The 
leader of the herd, an enormous bull, seemingly twice as big 
as a yoke of ordinary oxen, raised his head and sniffed the 
air a little suspiciously at the approach of the balloon; but 
as he had never encountered danger or treachery in such a 
disguise before, he went on cropping the grass, apparently 
unapprehensive of danger, until the car was rushing directly 
over the backs of the herd. 

Then a shot from Sam's rifle, bringing down a fine half- 
grown calf at his very side, seriously changed the tenor of 
his ruminations, and the whole herd was at once in tumult, 
the animals galloping off at the top of their speed, the 
earth trembling at their tread, and their humps rising and 
falling like the billows of an angry sea. 

Sam, who had had his eye upon the great bull from the 
first, hurled his lariat, but missing the prime object of liis 
cast, only succeeded in tripping up a fine cow, which he 
easily dispatched by a few pistol balls behind the shoulder, 
but had to cut loose his lariat in order to be freed from the 
dead weight of the carcass. 

The pursuit had now led them about three miles from the 
spectators; but as the balloon flew much faster than the 
game, it soon succeeded in heading them off and send- 
ing them whirling back in the opposite direction — that 
is, toward the crowded hummock; and the balloon, now 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


135 


having the wind more fairly upon her quarter, was more 
easily managed. 

On swept the vast herd, with clouds of dust and the thun- 
der of many hoofs, and the hunters on the hill got their 
rifles ready to attack their flank when it should come within 
range. 

Again Sam fired, and another young bison dropped in its 
tracks; and then still intent on the mighty leader of the 
herd, he cast another lasso, with better success this time, 
and noosed the old fellow about the horns. The monster 
bellowed with rage, but made no halt, dragging balloon and 
car after him in his plunging rush, as if it were no more 
than a lad^s kite. 

But almost at the same instant that this was effected, 
the professor, whose blood W’as aroused, but who had not a 
great deal of experience in the huntins: line, threw out a 
grapnel at hap-hazard, and the hooks by the strangest 
chance in the world, caught and got securely twisted in the 
bushy tail of an old stag-necked cow, who also continued 
her mad career; and the balloon, thus towed along by a 
double team, and partially against the wind, flopped over 
on its side, almost scraping the backs of the remainde;r of 
the herd, while the car was almost capsized, the occupants 
having to cling to the sides to save themselves from being 
tossed out, which would have been certain death beneath the 
myriads of trampling hoofs that were thundering on from 
behind. 

Thgir position wmuld have been a most ludicrous one, 
under other circumstances, but as matters stood it was no 
joke to either Sam or the professor. 

^‘DoiTt lose your grip or weTe goners, professsor,^^ Sam 
called out. ^‘^This is the worst I ever see.^^ 

‘Tt is a remarkable experience in natural history, re- 
marked the old professor, philosophical to the last, though 
he was hanging on by a very precarious hold, and the little 
stove — fortunately there was no fire in it — which had shifted 
its position at the outset, was resting rather uncomfortably 
on his stomach, while his conical cap was jammed over his 
eyes, and a coil of ropes and blankets were twined about 
his neck. ^‘Our only hope is to wait until the animals halt 
from sheer exhaustion. 

The hunters, as the great herd approached, had begun to 
blaze away at it with more or less effect, and could only laugh 


136 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM* 


at the predicament in which their friends had been placed, 
but they soon ceased when they saw the real nature of the 
danger, and neither Mollie nor Fayaway could suppress a 
scream. 

‘'‘Room, thar, room cried Big Horn, elbowing his way 
througli the crowd, just as the balloon was being dragged 
past the hummock with the speed of the wind. 

Ilis rifle flew to his shoulder, and the balloon was at once 
partially relieved, as his shot sheered off the cow's tail 
almost at the root. Then dropping his gun, and setting his 
hunting-knife between his teeth, he sprang forward at the 
great bulbs throat. 

He missed it, and the next instant would have been dashed 
to pieces by the car, had he not made a virtue of necessity 
— and missing the throat — caught the tail. He was at once 
carried of his feet, his form standing out horizontally 
like a pointer’s tail, as he was hurled along, but he never 
let go his hold, and still held the knife between his iron 
jaws. 

Slowly, hand over hand, he climbed his way up the cau- 
dal appendage, and at last when its owner set its foot in a 
prairie-dog’s hole and stumbled, a single bound served to set 
the hunter on his back. The bison was up and away again 
in a trice, lowering his head, snorting and bellowing, but 
Big Horn stuck on like a panther, and drawing the knife 
from his mouth, plunged it to the hilt just behind the left 
shoulder-blade. Again he stumbled, and again went on, 
but again and again the long knife entered his side, and at 
last he plunged forward head-first upon the plain — d^d. 

The balloon and car righted to their natural positions. 
Big Horn coolly slid off the bull’s back, and Sam and the 
professor looked about in a dazed and bewildered way, 
while the hunters set up a hearty cheer, in which were 
blended the feebler voices of Mollie Chapman and little 
Fayaway. 

“The worst I ever see!” said Sam, scrambling down to 
the ground when the balloon had been securely anchored. 
“Pard, give me your paw. Lord knows what would have 
become of us if it hadn’t been for you.” 

“Even my experiences at the South Pole hardly offered 
me such a rare study in natural history as this of to-day,” 
blandly observed the professor, whose white garments 
still bore the marks of the stove that had rested upon his 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


137 


lap. ‘^It was interesting and instructive -to the last de- 
gree.^’ 

“AVell, we\e got beef enough for some time; that is one 
consolation/’ said Sam, making for the carcass of the fallen 
bull, knife in hand. 

^^We had better make all haste with our meals/’ said old 
Max, ^‘for Sam and I will have to return to our little canon 
this evening for a fresh supply of gas, and to-morrow 
we will be ready to carry Miss Mollie to her father’s arms.” 


CHAPTER XVIIL 

HOME AGAIN. 

Miss Chapman and Fayaway passed a night of grateful 
repose in the little house which had been carried over the 
mountains, and all of the party arose refreshed and invigor- 
ated after an uninterrupted rest by the camp-fire. 

They made a breakfast at early daylight upon broiled 
buffalo meat, and then waited in some anxiety for the re- 
turn of the balloon, which it had been arranged was to con- 
vey Mollie and Fayaway back to the ranch, to which the 
rest of the band were to proceed on horseback. 

^ ‘Where is the great hero. Big Horn, this morning?” 
asked Mollie, when she and her lover were taking a little 
stroll, a short distance from the rest. 

“There he is, coming from behind that rock, where he has 
probably passed the night,” replied her lover, with a little 
hesitation. “Do not notice him. He got some liquor from 
the soldiers last night, and they say he is morose and ugly 
under its influence.” 

Big Horn did not appear to notice them or any one else, 
as he passed, with a perceptible stagger in his gait. 

“Poor fellow! I am so sorry!” said the young girl. 
“What a pity such a heroic fellow should be addicted to so 
vile a habit.” 

“You will find few of his class who are not more or less 
so addicted, I fancy,” said Dutton. “Rocky Mountain 
Sam is a notable exception, for I believe he never drinks at 
all. But, hallo! here he comes again, and mounted for a 
journey. I wonder what he means?” 

Big Horn rode up to where the^ were standing. He looked 


138 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


stupid and ill at ease, and the neck of a suspicious looking 
bottle peeped out from the bosom of his hunting-coat. 

piloted you h^jer/'’ he said, gruffly, ^^an’ I reckon you 
won’t have no trouble in findin' your way back alone. Fve 
business at my cabin beyond the lake. Morniii’I’^ 

He rode away without another word. 

An hour later the balloon was seen approaching, and as it 
settled over their heads, something was dropped from it. At 
first it appeared like nothing but a long pole, with some- 
thing struggling at the lower end. But in an instant a 
number of folds spread themselves out around it like a vast 
umbrella, and it came drifting down toward them as softly 
and airily as a great snow-flake. 

It was a parachute. 

‘‘But whaFs them things on the end of it.^’^ cried one of 
the men. “They look like two tiger-cats afightin\^^ 

He was not far out of the way, for as the parachute 
settled slowly down toward them, the objects attached to it 
were distinctly made out to be two wild-cats of very great 
size, with their tails tied together, and locked in deadly 
combat. 

Mollie and Fay away screamed, and the men shouted with 
laughter, but there was a general scamper to get out of the 
way and a drawing of revolvers as by common consent, as 
the infuriated animals fluttered down upon the ground, 
spitting, screaming, and tearing each other as only this 
fiercest of the feline species is capable of doing; but a shower 
of bullets speedily ended their struggle, while the vast para- 
chute — about sixty feet in circumference — tilted helplessly 
over in the sunlight, and was examined with much 
curiosity. 

“Look out below! we are about to come to an anchor!” 
called out SanTs merry voice from above, and in a few 
moments the car was fairly grounded. 

“Kinder took you by surprise, I reckon, eh?” cried Sam, 
springing lightly to the ground. 

“I should think so,’^ said Mollie. “How on earth did you 
effect the capture of those dangerous animals?” 

“What! YoiFve gone to work and killed the poor pussies!” 
exclaimed the hunter, with pretended concern. “I thought 
you and Fayaway would be delighted with ^em in the way 
of pets, you know.” 

“We found them in the top of ft fir-tree on the inoun- 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


139 


tains/^ explained the professor, ^^and Sam could not resist 
the opportunity of yanking them up with his lariat and 
stuffing them in a meal-sack. Then, as I hadn't tried my 
old parachute for a long time, and wanted to see whether it 
was in order, I fell in with his plan of giving you all a sur- 
prise, IsnT it a beauty?^'' he added, picking up the para- 
chute and holding it over his head. 

*^And would that exaggerated umbrella let you down to 
the earth easily, in an emergency asked Mollie. 

^Tndeed it would — and Sam and I together, said the 
professor, furling up the parachute. I 

A hurried examination of the balloon was made, a few' 
trifling repairs completed, and then Mollie and Fayaway, 
with Sam and the professor, were once more aloft, on their 
way to Colonel Chapman^s ranch. 

It would be a more painful than pleasant task to particu- 
larly describe the meeting of Colonel Chapman and his 
lovely daughter. There was no end of celebration over the 
^dost returned^^ at the ranch. The old gentleman had not 
lost so much stock by the Indian marauders that he could . 
not spare a few head of beef and mutton for the festivities 
of a week or more, and he always furnished plenty of the 
^^real stutf’^ wherewith to wash down such substantials. 

The miners and border speculators flowed up again from 
Silver City, which was rapidly regaining its prestige under 
the comparative security afforded by the recent Indian de- 
feat; the squad of soldiers who had come to the assistance of 
the place from the fort still remained in their camp on the 
border of the stream; Lieutenant Dutton and his party ar- 
rived at the end of the second day after their departure from 
Miry Fork, to join in the festivities; and there was a reign 
of jollity and good fellowship generally for a number of 
days. 

The professor had retired, with his balloon, to his moun- 
tain fastness to receive the congratulations of Teddy and 
old Minnetrapa, plentifully rewarded with everything which 
the happy father had to give from his store of this world's 
goods, leaving behind him Rocky Mountain Sam, who was, 
of course, the hero of the hour. Besides this, his little 
Fayaway was constantly at his side, and rude tongues were 
busy with rumors of a two-fold marriage when the chaplain 
should arrive from Fort Benton to celebrate and sanctify 
the wedding of Mollie Chapman and Charles Dutton, which 


140 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


had been determined upon, at the persistent importunities 
of the latter, soon aftei* his arrival. 

Some days, entirely devoted to jollification, had passed, 
when the announcement was made that the balloon was in 
sight. 

“I am glad of it,^-’ said Colonel Chapman, rising, ‘^^for the 
boys have made preparations for any number of wild sports 
to-day, and I hope the professor will permit his balloon to 
take a part. He has been absent for more than a week 
now.^^ 

They all went out upon the plain, where already a large 
number were congregated, watching the flight of the balloon, 
which was rapidly approaching them from the mountains. 

^‘He’s got his smaller balloon this time,^^ said Sam; ‘^an' 
I only see two in the car — the old man and Teddy, like 
enough. Drat him ! if he ainT scooped up some of Fayaway’s 
second cousins by this time Fll put a head on him.'-’ 

Fayaway professed to be a princess, the daughter of a 
former grand chief of the Shoshone tribe, whose domains 
lay somewhere in the mysterious wilderness of the far South- 
west. When Sam had popped the question to her, she an- 
swered that she could not, meetly and properly, bestow the 
brown treasure of her little hand — no matter how seconded 
by the inclinations of her virgin heart — without the pres- 
ence of her royal kindred, some of whom old Max had prom- 
ised to skirmish around in search of, just before he quitted 
the camp for his canon home. 


CHAPTER XIX. 

AIKY LOVE-MAKING. 

The balloon descended and was duly anchored, and the 
professor stepped out upon the ground, with his customary 
smirk of philosophical self-conceit upon his hatchet features, 
and his long cloak and tall hat, looking as white as though 
he had just stepped out of a flour-bin. 

'T saw from my observatory,"* said he, briskly, after 
saluting the ladies with old-fashioned politeness, ^That you 
were preparing for sport of some kind, so I thought Fd just 
light down and see what was up."" 

"‘You ain"t brought none of Fayaway"s gang?’" whispered 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. l4i 

Sam, in a hoarse whisper; ^'nary a brother, dad, uncle, or 
even a second cousin. How^s that?” 

"'I don’t believe Fayaway has got any relatives,” said old 
Max, fretfully. 

•‘What?” 

“Leastwise,” continued the professor, mollifyingly, “I’ve 
scooted over all the country to the south-west — over half of 
Idaho, in fact — and the only Shoshone, or Snake Injuns I 
could find were a poor, miserable, half-starved set of beg- 
gars, who professed never to have heard of Fayaway, or any 
of her relations. If the rascals I saw were really of her kin- 
dred, if I were she I’d be only too happy to d’sown ’em.” 

Fayaway, who had understood a portion of the foregoing, 
drew close to Miss Chapman, and dissolved into tears. 

The games had now begun on another part of the plain 
by horse-racing, and the whole party moved over to see the 
fun. 

While it was in progress the professor, who seemed to 
easily weary, of terrestrial affairs, began to busy himself 
about his balloon preparatory to making an ascent. 

Miss Yearning, who happened to stand a little apart with 
Sam, whispered to him: 

“Mr. Ooolcard, I have never asked you a favor yet. Will 
you grant me one now?” 

“To be sure I will, madam,” was the unhesitating re- 
sponse. 

“I was never up in a balloon in my life,” said she, sim- 
peringly. “Won’t you take me, Sam?” 

“With all my heart,” was the cheery reply. “There’s no 
time like the present; and I see the professor is making 
ready for a start. What d’ye say?” 

“What, auntie, are you going to make an ascent?” called 
out Mollie, just as Miss Gertrude was being assisted into 
the car. 

‘ “Yes,” answered that lady; “Mr. Ooolcard insists upon 
my accompanying him this once.” 

Now this was rather trenching upon Sam’s good nature, 
especially as he saw that Fayaway had overheard and was 
by no means pleased; but he was in for it, and scrambled 
into the car with, however, a bad grace, while the attention 
of all was momentarily attracted to them, and he could also 
see both Mollie and her lover laughing in their sleeves. 

The professor had not yet got in, and was busying himself 


142 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAK 


with some tackle on the ground; the wind was high, causing 
the gas-bag to tug violently at the anchor-line, impatient of 
restraint, and at this moment the line broke. 

At least it was supposed to have broken, though Sam 
ever afterward insisted that the lady had in some way sev- 
ered it, for the severance took place suspiciously close to 
the edge of the car; and the liberated balloon shot up like 
an arrow from a bow. 

Sam would have pulled the throttle- valve at once, but he 
was prevented by his companion — she weighed about a hun- 
dred and ninety avoirdupois — flinging herself into his arms 
with a shriek of affright. 

^‘Oh, dear, what shall we do? I shall die, I know I shall!” 
she exclaimed. 

‘^Just let me jerk that ere rope, will you, and wefll be 
down in the shake of a ram^s tail,” panted Sam, striving in 
vain to release himself from her terrified embrace. 

‘‘What, and leave me to myself? Oh, how awfully cruel 
you are I” 

“Well, it wouldn’t do any good now, anyway,” said Sam, 
submitting to the caresses with a very poor grace, and 
throwing a despairing glance over the side. “If we were 
to land now it wouldn’t be within three miles of the ranch. 
The wind’s havin’ it all its own way. AVe’re in a regular 
whirlwind.” 

“Oh, Sam! Sam! you don’t say so? I shall die, I know 
I shall! But, thank Heaven! I have your strong arm to 
protect me!” 

And again the fair dame almost smothered him with her 
frantic clutches. 

“You must have been balloonin’ afore this, you take it so 
cool,” said Sam. 

“Cool? Why, I’m scared to death!” 

“Y^ou look like it, but if you’ll just glance over the side 
of the car for a minute you’ll see that we’re likely to be 
dashed against the side of that mountain.” 

She uttered a scream of real terror as she glanced abroad, 
for the storm was bearing them against the rocky mountain 
wall with incredible rapidity, but still clung to Sam — who, 
however, had entirely recovered his nonchalance. 

“I suppose you’re" fond of death?” said he, quietly. “If 
you are, I am perfectly agreeable. Anything to oblige a 
lady.” 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


143 


‘^Fond of death she screamed. ‘^How awfully you 
talkr 

‘"If you’re not, youM better let me go, or we will both be 
in — I won^t say where — in less than five minutes.^^ 

She sank away from him as he spoke, and the next in- 
stant Sam was heaving over ballast as if for dear life. 

He was not a moment too soon; and, as it was, the car 
almost scraped the edge of a jagged precipice as it bounded 
upward into a higher atmosphere. 

^^ril give the old gal a good freeze for this joke she^s 
played on me,^' muttered Sam to himself, as he kept on 
heaving out the sand without a word. 

^‘Dear me!” said Miss Gertrude, shivering, ^^ain’t we 
getting ra-rather high up, Samuel?” 

‘^Oh, not very,” said Sam, pausing a moment, and pre- 
tending to wipe the sweat from his brow. ^^We aiiFt moreen 
•’bout four miles high yet.” 

'^Four miles!” echoed the spinster, in serious alarm. 
f^Why, goodness gracious! how many miles do you intend 
to go up?” 

“Can't say,” said Sam, tossing over the ballast a little 
more leisurely; “but we’ve got to strike an air-current to 
fetch us back to the ranch if we go four hundred.” 

“Four But of course you’re joking!” exclaimed the 

lady, whose teeth began to chatter with the cold. 

“Never was more in earnest in my life,” replied the hun- 
ter, gravely picking up a roll of blankets and laying them 
in Miss Yearning’s lap. “Put these ere fixins around you, 
and warm up a bit. Why, the thermometer’s only about 
ten degrees below the freezin’ p’int.” 

“Does — dpes it ever get much lower than that, Sam?” 

^^Why, bless your youthful heart!” said Sam, appearing to 
grow confidential and loquacious. “Why, the last time the 
mercury friz in the bulb and busted. The professor thought 
it by no means surprisin’; and even then we warn’t more’n 
about thirty miles over the surface of the earth.” 

Miss Yearning’s heart began to faint within her; but Sam’s 
tongue ran on as though he thought her greatly amused. 

“The second time, the professor’s nose friz,” said he. 
“He told me as how the sensation was rather pleasant than 
otherwise. It was only when his eye-teeth dropped into his 
lap an’ the blood began to gush out from under his finger- 
p^jls that he began to feel sort of uncomfortable; an" besides 


144 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


that, the shootin^ stars as went hummin^ an^ hissin’ aroun^ 
the car wasn^t very pleasant/^ 

Aliss Gertrude's lips were blue, and her cheeks very white. 

^‘How high up are we now?" she said, tremblingly. 

‘^'Bout five miles an' a half," said Sam; "‘an' now we've 
struck the right current an' now we're goin' back over the 
mountains again. Oh! we may get down safely." 

"‘May? Good Heaven! Can there be any doubt about 
it?" 

"‘Well, there wouldn’t be if the old man were here to help 
me, you see," was the cool reply; ""but I can't very well look 
out ahead an' turn the steerin' crank at the same time." 

""But can't I turn it?" 

"‘Hardly. You'd find it rather tiresome. But never 
mind; we mayg^i down without any broken bones, as I said 
before." 

“But we must make sure of it!" exclaimed the spinster, 
springing up excitedly and seizing the crank. ""AVhich way 
must I turn it?" 

"‘To the right, if you please. That’s it. Don't be afraid 
to put a little elbow-grease to it. A little faster, if you 
please.'’ 

And Sam thought that he had his revenge, after all, as 
the poor lady bent over the crank, puffing and blowing at . a 
great rate, for she was rather embonpoint than otherwise. 

“It may seem a little out of place for me standin' here 
bossin' the machine, while a lady does all the hard work," 
said he, with an inward chuckle; “but I don't see how we 
can do anything else under the circumstances." 

“It must be all for the best," gasped Miss Gertrude, shed- 
ding blanket after blanket as she bent to the crank. 

“To be sure it is," said the hunter. “Why, a while ago 
you were shiverin with cold, an' now you're all in a glow. 
Keep it up, keep it .up!’' 

But Miss Gertrude suddenly dropped the handle, and 
sank into a seat, completely exhausted. Her face was as 
red as a boiled crab, and her ample bust rose and fell like a 
mild sea billow. 

“Now, wrap up again, or you'll take your death of cold," 
said Sam, piling the blankets upon her once more. "‘We'll 
soon be over the ranch, atid then down we go." 

But his revenge was not to be altogether unalloyed. She 
grasped his hand, and dragged him to her side; and again 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


145 


she cast herself into his arms, puffing and blowing like a 
furnace. 

leave me, dear!'’^ she murmured; am so fright- 
ened.” 

say. Miss Yearning,” said Sam, who was determined 
to keep cool even under these circumstances, ‘‘this is rather 
breezy billin^ an’ cooin’, ain’t it? But, do you know, I’ve 
always liked you?” 

“La, now!” purred the spinster, drooping her eyelids and 
beginning to play with one of the buttons on Sam’s hunting- 
coat, “what nonsense you talk! But why have you always 
liked me, Mr. Coolcard?” 

“Because you have always seemed so fond of — of my dear 
little sweetheart. Fay aw ay,” was the grave rejoinder. 

“Ugh, you brute!” screamed Miss Yearning, thrusting 
him from her. 

.Miss Gertrude did not speak another word until they had 
landed a short distance from the ranch, when Sam sprang 
lightly to the ground and offered his hand to assist her in 
alighting. 

“Yo, thank you; I do not require assistance,” she said, 
and gathering up her skirts she leaped down with an em- 
phatic plump, which apprised her dutiful niece and little 
Fayaway, who were waiting to receive her, that something 
decidedly unpleasant had taken place. 


CHAPTER XX. 

A MAD RACE, AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 

“Did you enjoy your balloon sail, auntie?” asked Mollie, 
with a malicious smile; “you know you were dying to have 
one.” 

“I suppose you found it light and airy?” said her old 
brother-in-law, who had also been let into the joke by his 
daughter. 

But Miss Gertrude merely answered them with a defiant 
glance, and vanished inside the house, leaving poor Sam 
standing forlornly in the group, quite disconsolate at the 
unjust displeasure of Fayaway, who looked straight before 
her, and did not seem to see him. 

“Cheer up, my mountain hero!'^ cried Lieutenant Dutton, 


146 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


laughing; ^^youVe missed the bear-bating and the greater 
part of the races, but you're in time to see the best handi- 
cap of the day. After those soldiers finish that scrub race 
they are preparing for, Mollie and I and two or three others 
are going to try a run for fifty dollars, on half a dozen new 
horses which the colonel had sent from Kentucky last fall, 
and which he says are the finest in the territory.*^ 

^^And am I to ride Ophelia, the roan mareT'’ cried Mollie, 
with sparkling eyes, at the same time giving a switch to the 
train of her new and becoming riding-dress. ‘^You shall 
ride, too, if you wish, Sam.''’ 

‘'Thank ye. Miss Mollie, but I wonT straddle the pigskin 
to-day, said Sam, turning on his heel, after vainly casting 
an appealing look to Fayaway. 

The grand race of the day was soon on hand, and the 
Blue Grass thoroughbreds, upon which the colonel prided 
himself immensely, were curveting hither and thither, as 
if proud of their riders and impatient for the signal to start. 

Miss Chapman and Fayaway who had been permitted to 
take their pick from the herd, were the best mounted; 
Mollie backing a splendid mare, wdio looked as though the 
speed of thought were in her limbs, and Fayaway airily 
sitting a long-limbed bay of apparently equal speed, while 
the rest of the competitors — including Dutton and three 
hunters — were rather interiorly mounted, though still ably 
so. 

“Kow, let there be no mistake about the course,^^ said the 
old colonel, who was to act as starter. “It’s two miles, you 
know — that is, to and around Sugar-Loaf Peak, and return. 
Are you ready?” 

“All ready!” cried Mollie. 

The word was given, and away went the flyers at a tre- 
mendous pace, the two ladies leading almost at the outset, 
but closely followed by the rest. 

The course to be followed was such, that the spectators, 
from their position, could keep the horses in view to the 
summit of a rise in the prairie, about a mile away, when 
they would disappear, and not make their reappearance 
until they had rounded the cove agreed upon and were 
nearly half way on the return; but the professor had 
ascended in his balloon two or three hundred feet — with a 
line still attached to the ground — from y^hich jiq could see 
the whole courge, and report below, 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


147 


A great shout arose from the hunters and soldiers as the 
gallant steeds stretched their limbs to the first rise. 

^‘^HoorahP^ cried the colonel, who had been indulging a 
little freely, as was too often the case with him, if the truth 
must be told; ^*Mollie is still ahead, and the little squaw 
next. WhaUs the matter with Dutton^s cob? He’s lagging 
in the rear. Now they’re all over the hill.” 

“Miss Mollie still leads,” sang out old Max from the bal- 
loon; “Fayaway next, the trappers all in a bunch, Dutton 
in the rear.” 

There was a pause. 

“Dutton’s horse is gone dead lame, and he’s coming 
back,” was the next report. 

“That’s unfortunate!” growled Chapman, alittle ruefully. 
“It’s the young sorrel, and worth four hundred dollars if 
she’s worth a cent. There he comes back, limping over the 
hill and looking dead beat,” he added, as the lieutenant 
made his reappearance and cantered slowly back on a 
foundered horse, looking decidedly out of sorts. 

“How are they now?” called out the colonel, looking 
aloft. 

“Miss Mollm still far away ahead of all but Fayaway,” 
was the reply from above. “There’s another horse broke 
down, and the rider turning back.” 

“The duse there is!” cried Chapman, with a still stronger 
oath, while Lieutenant Dutton made his way in. “What 
has got into the horses, Charley?” 

“1 am sure I can’t say,” was the rather glum reply. 
“Been on pasture and out of training too long, I suppose.” 

“Mollie has got behind the Sugar Loaf, so has Fayawayl” 
called out the voice from abbve. “Now they’re all out of 
sight.” 

They all waited breathlessly to hear the next report. 

One — two — three minutes elapsed and no report. 

“What can be the matter?” called out the colonel, watch 
in hand. “They ought to round the cove in a minute and 
a half.” 

“Well, they haven’t done so yet, that’s all,” was the cool 
reply from the balloon. 

One — two — three minutes more. 

Eyery one began to grow excited, and the colonel and 
Dutton a trifle nervous. 

“No signs of ’em yet?” cried the colonel, anxiously. 


148 


EOCKY MOTii^TAIN SAM. 


‘‘Not yet/^ was the hesitating response^ while they could 
see the aeronaut leveling his telescope. 

“Nor yet?’^ demanded Chapman, after the lapse of an- 
other minute — beginning to swear and rapidly losing 
patience. 

“N — n — no/^ replied the voice, a little feebly, and then 
crying out in an excited tone: “Yes; here is one of the 
men coming back with an arroto sticking in Ms horse’s 
neck /” 

The colonel and the lieutenant stared at each other; 
everybody stared at his neighbor; and Sam pricked up his 
ears like a stag-hound, and gave a long, low whistle. 

“I see beyond the Sugar Loaf now,^^ called out the air- 
voice. ^^Miss Mollie and Faymoay are ca])tivesl Firefoot 
and about thirty Indians are bearing them northward.'’^ 

Chapman was as white as a sheet; Dutton gave a deep 
groan; Eocky Mountain Sam’s brow darkened, and his hand 
closed over the knife-hilt at his belt. For a few seconds 
not a word was spoken, not a motion made. 

“Merciful Heaven!” gasped the colonel, who was the 
first to gain his voice; “and now we haven’t got a fresh 
horse within five miles. AYhy, curse it! They must have 
been lying in wait for some such opportunity Is this all day.” 

Lieutenant Dutton, upon whom,, and with good reason, 
the blow had fallen more heavily than upon any one else, 
suddenly started and wiped his hand over his forehead, as 
though Just emerging from some nightmare dream, and 
then strode, without a word, to the spot where a number of 
the horses were standing, saddled and bridled, but still 
breathing hand after the rough racing they had been spurred 
and whipped through by hunters and soldiers. 

He was about to mount one at random, when Eocky 
Mountain Sam laid his hand gently upon his arm. 

“Cap, I feel it just as much as you can,” said he, hoarsely; 
“but ’tain’t no use tryin’ to foller them on these broken- 
winded brutes. They’ve got two miles the start of us.” 

Dutton shook off the hand, and would have persisted in 
mounting had not the old colonel himself seconded the 
hunter’s advice. 

‘=Sam is right, my poor boy!” said he, in a broken voice. 
“Good Heaven! don’t I feel it as much as you? But I can- 
not afford to be irrational even now. Go into the house a 
few minutes and compose yourself, while I send to the 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


140 


horse paddock and have a fresh lot of animals driven up. 
Then we can plan the pursuit at once.’^ 

‘‘The lieutenant had to acknowledge the sense of this, but 
he almost broke down, as he turned and clutched the old 
man^s hand. 

Tlie chaplain will be here to-morrow,^^ he muttered. “We 
— were — then — to — have — been — married I Oh ! my friend, 
how can I bear it?^^ 

“Don't break down, or I shall too,'' said the old man, 
and as he took him by the arm and led him gently toward 
the house, he gave the necessary orders, and in a moment 
several men were dashing away to the paddock for fresh 
horses. 

“Wait a moment, sir," said Sam to the colonel; “here 
come the two men who were out of the race. Better hear 
what they have to say.” 

The competitor whose horse had gone lame appeared 
above the hill, accompanied by the other whose horse had 
been reported as having an arrow sticking in his neck, the 
latter being supported in his saddle by his companion as 
though very weak or wounded. 

They waited impatiently until they came up. 

“It was a reg'lar ambush," said one of the men, jumping 
from his horse, and assisting his comrade to dismount. 
“Jimmy, jist pull that arrow out of the brute's neck — or 
may be you'll have to break it off; I don't think he's hurt 
much; but poor Ealph here's got an ugly slash in the 
shoulder an' has lost a heap of blood." 

“I ain't so weak but I can tell my story," said the 
wounded man, ;\vho was very white as he leaned hea-vily on 
his comrade's arm.. “There ^ ain't much to tell after all. 
Dennis was the first man behind the ladies an' I was the 
second and last — the lieutenant and Jack havin' given up 
the race. A minute arter the ladies went out of sight aroun' 
the base of Sugar Loaf, I thought I heard a squeal, but 
didn't think nothin', 'cause they was both laughin' an' 
cryin' out during the hull race, an' Dennis, the soldier was 
clus to their heels on the big piebald. But soon's I turned 
the peak a sight met me made my heart rise up in my gullet. 
Firefut an' the Injuns had been skulkin’ among the rocks, 
an’ had pounced out jist in the* nick o' time. They had 
grabbed Miss Mollie an' Fayaway— the fust had fainted, I 
think, but the little squaw was a kickin' an' squirmin' an' 


150 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


jawin’ ’em like a trump, an’ poor Dennis was stretched out 
as dead as a pincushion, with four or five arrers stickin in 
him, an’ his boss lyin’ near him, likewise stuck full. You 
know none of us was armed, havin’ shed our traps afore 
startin’, an’ I don’t know as I’d a made much of a stan’ 
anyways, I was so tuck by surprise. But afore I could rein 
in, 1 got this shot in my shoulder, an’ then turned an’ run, 
though I didn’t know the boss was hit till I overtook Jack 
here, and then began to feel a little down-hearted. Gentle- 
men, I is got no more fur to say.” 

^‘Oome right into the ranch an’ have your wound dressed,” 
said the colonel, and as they moved away together the 
greatest bustle took the place of the apathy which at first 
geemed to have fallen upon all. 


CHAPTEK XXL 

THE HEKMIT’S hut. 

Fortunately there were enough horses got together in the 
distant paddock to remount the entire force of hunters and 
soldiers that were to go to the rescue of the captives. 

Scarcely an hour after the announcement of the disastrous 
termination of the race, a force of about forty mounted 
men, under the command of Lieutenant Dutton, and 
twenty-five cavalry men, under the same sergeant who 
brought them from Fort Benton to Miry Fork, were on the 
march, and Kocky Mountain Sam, old Max, and Teddy 
McGuire — the latter lying peacefully inebriated in the 
bottom of the car — were sailing back to the White Hermit’s 
canon, after promising to put themselves in communication 
with the horsemen at daybreak on the following morning. 

This arrangement left the original detachment of twenty 
men at the ranch, at which, after much entreaty. Colonel 
Chapman was also persuaded to remain, together with Miss 
Yearning and the servants. The lady mentioned, though 
likely enough sincerely shocked at learning of the second 
captivity of her niece, was so delighted that her bondage was 
to be shared by Fayaway as hardly to be able to hide her 
feelings. 

The last farewells had been said, the last hand-grasp 
taken, and the old gentleman stood with his sister-in-law 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


151 


at the gate of the corral, watching the command as it passed 
to the northward at a sharp trot, and amid clouds of dust. 

^ ‘There they go! Heaven bless themT exclaimed Chap- 
man, fervently. ^TCs almost sunset, but they will not rest 
this side of CadotCs Pass.^'’ 

In the meantime the aeronauts were hovering mountain- 
ward, and could already see the volcanic vapors of the 
HermiPs canon sending up their sinuous columns against 
the sunset sky. In a short time the balloon was safely 
landed and housed, Teddy working with such a will as to 
speedily dissipate the effects of the whisky that had 
muddled him. 

They found old Minnetrapa awaiting them in the cabin. 
She at first appeared to be much cut up by the news of 
Fayaway’s captivity, but quickly subsided into the calmness 
of Indian stoicism, and went on preparing the meal she had 
been engaged on when they entered as if nothing out of the 
way had happened. 

While the three men were eating, Teddy asked the pro- 
fessor for ^^a drap of the cratheP^ to wash down his food. 
This demand was met with a keen rebuff, which so annoyed 
the Irishman that he retired to a remote corner, muttering 
a string of unintelligible brogue, in which ^‘badcess,*^ ^^bad 
luck,’^ and other choice epithets found an indistinct airing 
above his breath, and presently slunk off to bed. 

A storm was brewing without, and as Sam and Max sat 
there by the cheerful hearth with its vast heap of blazing 
logs, they could hear the blast, which gradually swelled from 
a low, hollow moan to a shrieking storm, that yelled around 
the cabin and rushed roaring through the gorges and 
chasms, with a sound as of all pandemonium broken loose, 
mingled at last with the heavy crashes of thunder that 
seemed to shake the very mountains to their eternal bases, 
and pretty soon there was added the sound of fierce and 
lashing rain. 

The night was well advanced when Sam informed the 
professor that he would follow Teddy's example; '‘for," he 
added, "we've got a big job before us in the morning." 

He retired into the room where Teddy had disappeared, 
but a moment after was called back, half dressed by the 
splash and thud of a horse's hoofs on the sodden turf outside 
of the door. 

The Hermit had hoard it and was taking down bis rifle, 


152 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


and Sam was noiselessly reaching for his, while a quick, sus- 
picious glance passed between them, when a heavy knock 
upon the door caused it to shake and rattle against its oaken 
bars. 

It was a strange place, and a wild, strange hour of the 
night for such an interruption. 

“Shall I call Teddy?’"’ whispered Sam, for already the 
Irishman’s sonorous snores came rumbling in from the other 
apartment. 

Max nodded, but at this moment, a rough voice was heard 
demanding admittance. 

“It s Big Horn!” cried Sam, dropping his rifle, and run- 
ning to let down the bars, without an instant’s hesitation; 
and a moment later the redoubtable hunter came lumbering 
in, with the rain-drops glistening on the hair of his coon-skin 
cap, and running off in little rivulets from an oil-skin cape 
which protected the upper portion of his burly form. 

“You needn’t mind ’bout the horse, I tied him under the 
shed myself,” said he, throwing off his cap and cape, and 
drawing up a stool to the still cheerful fire. 

He didn’t speak for several minutes, but presently 
stretched out his mighty paw to Sam, with his customary, 
“Pard, put it thar!” nodded to Max, and then inquired if 
there was anything to eat and drink. 

Max produced a bottle and tin cup without a word, 
and then began to put some cold meat and potatoes on the 
table, for the old Indian woman ha'd long ere this gone to 
her rest. 

“Where on earth have you been for the last ten days, and 
what brought you here on a night like this?” said Sam, when 
the surly guest had finished eating and drinking, and had 
commenced to fill his short pipe with evident satisfaction. 

“One question at a time, pard, ef you please,” said Big 
Horn. “Thankee, Max, I will take another nobbier. Ha, 
but it does touch a raw spot on a night like this,” he 
added, drawing a long breath after his draught. 

“Never mind whar I’ve been fur the last ten days, pard; 
this ’ere’s what brought me hyar to-night.” 

As he spoke he loosened something from his belt, and 
dangled it up betwixt him and the firelight, with grim 
satisfaction. His companions started and stared, for the 
object was a fresh and gory human scalp. 

^‘Jist let it hang up thar to dry a bit,” said the great 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


153 


hunter, hanging the ghastly fragment by its one long black 
lock to a little wooden pin in the wall just above the fire- 
place. raised that ’ere tuft jist down here at the ravine 
betwixt the mountains, an' I waited jist two hours fur it." 

It was evident from his manner that Big Horn knew noth- 
ing as yet, about what had transpired at Chapman's Kanch, 
and wishing to hear his own account of himself first, both 
Sam and Max nodded to go on. 

^‘I’ve been down to Jefferson since I seed you," besran the 
hunter. 

^‘What! so far south as that?" exclaimed Sam in sur- 
prise. 

'Zactly. An' I found out as the Blackfeet iu the South 
are jest as sassy as them in the North. Firefut'll git 
another band together soon, mind my word. But that 
ain't why I come hyar. Pard, you remember that 'ere half- 
breed I saved from drownin’ in the big canon of the Yel- 
lowstone nigh onto two years ago?" 

Sam nodded. 

^AYall, he ain't forgot it no more nor you. I seed him 
at Jefferson yesterday mornin' an' he told me of a job which 
Firefut had put up to have some of them southern Black- 
feet make a trip to this very canon, an' spy aroun' ole Max 
an' the balloons." 

^AVhat!" cried the old aeronaut in alarm; ^‘do any of 
them know of the entrance to this canyon, then?" 

^‘One of 'em did/^ said the hunter, with a significant nod 
at the suspended scalp; “but he don’t know nothin' at this 
moment. Wall, as soon as I heerd it, I made tracks for 
the north, as I. knew it wouldn’t do to let the red varmints 
into the secrets of the gas-bags, you know. Got to the 
motuh of the gorge jest as the storm began — 'bout three 
hours ago, and laid in wait. Waited for two hours when 
he came pokin' along through the wind and rain." 
Another nod at the scalp. “His body lies right across the 
the trail, as a warnin' fur others, though he had no chums." 

“But there may have been others behind him“‘' cried old 
Max, springing up in great excitement. “We ought to 
make sure. Good heavens! If they discover the way to this 
canon, then good-by to the superstitious terror in which 
they hold me and my balloons; or they might destroy the 
balloons, for that matter, and then what would become of 
us?" 


154 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Big Horn shook his head. 

^‘This rooster was alone, jestspyin^ aroim^ like, I think, 
said he, and then added, ill-humoredly, ‘^‘Howsomdever, if 
you ain’t got no thanks fur my cornin’ seventy miles to save 
your shanty, your condemned ole gas-hags kin bust up fur 
all I keer.” 

The professor hastened to make amends for his seeming 
want of courtesy, and Sam proceeded to explain to his 
‘^pard’^ in as few words as possible, what had taken place 
during the day. 

IMg Horn was at first too much astonished to speak. 

^‘What!’^ he muttered, at last; ‘^Miss Mollie scooped up 
agin,^ aiU the little brick with her? Wall, I must jest 
sleep over that afore I give an opinion as how things is.^^ 

He began to draw off his heavy boots without further 
ceremony, and Sam and the professor being also tired and 
sleepy, in a very few moments the entire cabin was hushed 
in slumber. 

It happened to be Teddy McGuire who was first aroused a 
little before daybreak by a strange noise as of something 
stealthily crawling over the roof of the cabin. 

At first he thought it must be some wild animal, but he 
bent his head and listened intently. 


CHAPTER XXIL 

A WAKRIOK FROM THE SKY. 

The sound of something crawling upon the roof of the 
cabin continued, until at length the listening Irishman was 
thoroughly aroused. He arose softly — making himself 
aware of the presence of Big Horn'in the cabin — and, with- 
out dressing or awakening his companions, went into the 
next room, which was still dimly illumined by the embers 
of the. fire, and took down his rifle. 

‘"Be it beast or hay then,” he muttered to himself, ^fit’s 
myself that will soon discover.” 

The crawling sound had now ceased, and the mass or body 
of whatever had caused it seemed to be resting on the low 
roof of the cabin near the chimney. 'Teddy stood upon tip- 
toe, poked the muzzle of his gun against the roof at this 
point, and pulled the trigger. 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


155 


The report of the gun was instantly followed by an Indian 
yell and the sound ’of a body rolling off the roof; while the 
other inmates of the cabin sprang out of bed, and, notwith- 
standing the suddenness of their awakening, took in the 
meaning of the situation at once, and began to throw on 
their clothes. 

^‘Why didnT you arouse us the moment you got up your- 
self, you booby whispered old Max, angrily. 

^‘Be dad! I didn't want to disturb ye till I was sure it wor 
mon or baste a-crapin^ on the roof,'^ was the puzzled reply. 

^^Of course, the report of your own gun was an admirable 
way to keep us from waking,^' growled the other. ^^Ha! 
stand by the door there 

There came a tremendous shock against the door of the 
cabin, accompanied and followed by a chorus of savage 
grunts and yells. 

Sam peered through a little chink just alongside the 
door. 

^ ‘Thank Heaven! it is growing daylight fast,^^ he whis- 
pered; ^‘but there^s a teamiiU big gang of ^em, an^ they've 
got a big log to batter down the door with. Look outT^ 

The door again quivered beneath a tremendous shock 
from without. 

‘Tt won’t stand many more like that,^’ said Big Horn, 
stooping to a cranny in the wall, and cocking his rifle, in 
which he was speedily imitated by Sam and Teddy; while 
old Max strove to quiet the fears of Minnetrapa, who was 
crouching by the fire-place and beginning to moan and wring 
her hands. 

‘Tfs growing lighter every minute,^’ whispered Sam. 
^‘There they come again with ‘the battering-ram! Let "’em 
have it.^^ 

Crack! crack! crack! rang the three rifles, the reports 
followed by shrieks and groans; and the blow which this 
time struck the door was far more feeble than its predeces- 
sors. 

The savages, of whom there were about fifty or sixty, 
prepared for another attack. Again the hunters knelt and 
fired, and again the battering-ram struck the door, with a 
little more effect than before, but still not sufficient to ma- 
terially affect the strength of the solid cross-pieces that 
held it. 

‘AYe’ve all got breech-loaders!'' cried Sam. ''Why don't 


156 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


you give it to ^em hot an’ heavy? It’fi almost daylight, or 
quite so, and they’re afraid of us.” 

They all took pattern from this speech — old Max with the 
rest — and the next time Sam sung out, ^‘Here comes the 
ram; look out!” the four rifles spoke almost simultaneously, 
and dropping the log, the savages fled out of range and were 
soon out of sight. 

^^Comel” said the professor, after satisfying himself that 
the savages who had escaped would not be likely to return, 
^det us hasten back to the house and make ready for our 
voyage. Teddy, I am determined that you shall accompany 
Sam and me, and we shall also have to make Big Horn our 
passenger until we can communicate with Lieutenant Dut- 
ton and his party.” 

After a hasty breakfast, and the completion of a few more 
preparations, the balloon — this time the largest one — Vv’as 
successfully inflated, and the aeronauts set out upon their 
voyage. 

It being the flrst ascent ever made by-Big Horn, that hero 
remained long at the side of the car, gazing over and below 
in mingled admiration and alarm. 

The air-ship made rapid headway, the wind being favor- 
able, and soon the professor could distinguish Colonel Chap- 
man’s ranch. 

are now passing over the ranch,” he said, lowering 
his glass; ‘^ay, and they’re looking up to us. In two hours 
at the farthest we ought to overtake Dutton’s party in the 
neighborhood of Cadott’s Pass.” 

The professor was correct in his calculations. Ere the 
time indicated had elapsed the balloon began to sweep over 
the jagged peaks that constituted Cadott’s Pass and ren- 
dered it so prominent above the surrounding plains, that he 
cried out: 

“There they are! And, what?” excitedly; “they’re al- 
ready engaged with the Indians in force. That shrewd 
devil, Eirefoot, must have left a body there on purpose to 
intercept them in their pursuit.” 

All hands were at the side of the car in an instant. 

Far, far below they could see the combatants, like specks 
upon the plain, and descending to within a mile or so of the 
.ground they could see that the hunters had intrenched 
themselves among the rocks, where they were beset and 
almost surrounded by a horde of one or two hundred sav- 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


157 


ages, who were circling hither and thither upon their active 
ponies, discharging their weapons and giving utterance to 
their terrible war-whoops. 

hardly thought the savages would dare attack so near 
the settlements as this/’ said the professor, hardly knowing 
what course to pursue. 

^‘Yes/’ growled Big Horn; ^‘‘an’ you kin bet yer life as 
Firefut’s well on his way to the mountains by this time.^’ ' 

^‘There! they see us now!*^ cried Sam; and they could 
hear the shouts of welcome arise from the beleaguered hun- 
ters below. ^‘What shall we do, professor? Scoop right 
down upon ’em, as usual 

“It was not my intention to do that at this point,’’ said 
Max, rubbing his chin in some perplexity. ^^What are you 
doing, Big Horn?” 

Big Horn was tying a hunting-knife upon the sole of one 
of his feet. 

^‘^Purfessor,” said he, coolly, believe as how this ere 
'was the place yer calkerlated to drop me down hooked to 
* the big umbrill, war’n’t it?” 

^‘To the parachute — yes.” 

^‘Well, git yer umbrill ready, and as soon as I git into 
fighting style you kin hitch me to it. An’ arter you see how 
I come out, then you kin come down with your gas-bag or 
not, jist as you please.” 

^‘Do you mean to say you are willing to go down under 
the parachute alone f” said the professor, aghast. 

‘‘You bet! Sam, lend a hand in riggin’ me up; an’ Ted, 
lad, pass over some more of them ere knives an’ tommy- 
haurks. That's it; a little more o’ them thongs. Oh! we’ll 
make it dusty for ’em yet. Purfessor, git out yer umbrill, 
an’ I’ll be in fightin’ order in fifteen minutes.” 

AVhile Max was preparing the parachute, Sam and Teddy,* 
obedient to instructions, proceeded to arm the hero for the 
coming fray. When they had finished, and he himself ex- 
pressed his approval with his armament, the hunter of the 
Big Horn presented truly a formidable appearance. 

Strapped, or rather tied with stout buffalo-thongs, to the 
bottom of each foot were two knives, with the blades pro- 
jecting from the toe and heel respectively. His elbows were 
armed as upon the occasion of the fight at Miry Fork: and, 
in addition to this, attached to each knee was a double- 
bladed tomahawk, A long, keeu-bladed knife was affixed 


158 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


to the peak of a stiff coonskin cap, which was tightly se- 
cured upon his head by a band under the chin; and stiffly 
jutting out all around his head — after the manner of a 
bull-dog’s spiked collar — were six more shorter-bladed 
knives, the hilts or butts of which were stoutly secured to 
the broad, heavy band of the cap. The armament was com- 
,pleted by each hand grasping a seven-shooting navy re- 
: volver. 

I ^^!Now, purfessor,” said Big Horn, coolly, ^^jest fasten 
the butt of the umbrill to the middle of my back, an’ let me 
; spread my wings. In course I kin cut the rope betwixt me 
an’ the umbrill when I git to the ground by jist twistin’ 
aroun’ my mug, an’ sawin’ away with these frog-stickers 
hitched on to my cap.” 

They fastened the parachute to his back, as directed, and 
Sam and Teddy helped him slowly over the side of the car, 
the professor, in the meantime, engineering the great para- 
chute, which when closed, was about twenty feet long. 

The fight was still being kept up in a desultory way below, 
but both sides were evidently chiefly concerned in the 
strange preparations that were going on in the balloon, 
which stood utterly motionless above their heads. The In- 
dians especially — there were about two hundred in all — 
were hopelessly mystified, for though nearly all of them had 
seen the balloon — or Booglebooby — before, the parachute 
was a new wonder that was to dawn upon their awe-stricken 
gaze; and even the hunters and soldiers were somewhat puz- 
zled when they saw the figure of a man being assisted over 
the side of the car, and no preparations being apparent for 
the descent of the balloon itself, 

^Tt cannot be possible that one of them intends to descend, 
by means of the parachute, single-handed!” muttered Lieu- 
tenant Dutton, with his field-glass at his eyes. ^Tt would 
be madness — he would be torn to pieces the instant he 
touched the earth. Ha!” 

This exclamation — echoed by a general shout from all 
around him and by a roar from the Indians on the outer 
plain — was called forth by Big Horn suddenly dropping 
from the balloon. 

At first he shot right downward like a bolt; but then the 
folds suddenly expanded themselves like the wings of a 
monstrous bird, checking the fall of the body underneath. 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


159 


at first with a sudden jerk, and then letting it down as softly 
and airily as the feather from a soaring eagle. 

For about half the distance — that is while in the 
stratum of motionless air occupied by the balloon itself — 
the descent was perfectly perpendicular; but a light breeze 
was moving near the surface of the earth, and as soon as the 
parachute and its passenger entered this, it swayed gently 
to and fro, at the same time, describing beautiful circles 
and curving lines, and displaying Big Horn, face down- 
ward at the extremities, sticking out with hands, feet, and 
limbs, like a gigantic frog, or the green monster in the 
pantomime. 

Grotesque enough he seemed to those below at first; but 
when the savages distinctly made out the real nature of the 
monster that was descending in itheir midst, a thrill of hor- 
ror ran through their midst, and even the hunter could not 
but view the novel and fearful spectacle with wonder and 
awe. But the Indians, nevertheless, grouped together, 
flourishing their weapons, and cheering each other with 
their war-whoops, and a few of them discharged arrows, 
which however, only passed through the cloth of the para- 
chute without doing harm. 

A brisker wind than had been prevailing now happened 
to spring up, and kept the parachute from at once deposit- 
ing its burden upon the ground, but buoyed it up for 
several feet above the surface. 

^^Looh out, reclsMns, fur Big Horn are a comin tooth 
an’ nail, over an’ above, an’ no mistake! Whoop 

And the next instant the terrible warrior was in their 
midst, his two pistols vomiting forth their leaden death as 
he came sprawling down, his head diving and twisting this 
way and tl^at with its bristling knives, the blades at his 
elbows dealing fatal strokes on either side as he worked his 
arms, his feet launching out their terrible fore and aft 
thrusts almost with the rapidity of thought, while the 
double-bladed tomahawks at his knees were at the same time 
brought into chopping play with tremendous effect. 

Then, as the parachute lowered him upon his feet a 
back twist of his knife-girt head was sufficient to free him 
from the thongs which bound him to his handle; the vast 
umbrella-like affair danced away upon the cheering wind; 
and he began to launch out on every side. Casting aside 
his now useless pistols, he speedily possessed himself of 


160 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


two knives from the bodies of the fallen, !Now he would 
spring forward, dash a couple of riders to the earth, and 
supporting himself by seizing the riderless steeds about the 
neck, free himself from those who pressed upon his rear 
by dealing out slashing blows with his donble-bladed feet; 
only to release his hold and recover his feet by plunging 
forward head first, and diving and twisting his terrible 
head-gear this way and that, while the knives in liis hands 
and at his elbows were kept energetically at work on either 
side. 

At one time, upward of a dozen dismounted Indians 
sprang simultaneously upon him, like a uave, to bring him 
to the ground, and for a moment it seemed as though he 
would be overpowered. But he merely braced himself into 
an upright position, and whirled himself around like a hop- 
per in a coffee-mill. The effect was very much like a straw- 
cutting machine, as the knives appended to him buzzed 
around, lopping off limbs, slicing open heads and breasts, 
and sending a dozen or more scarified redskins hopping 
away to rub and nurse themselves as best they could. 

Even savage nature could not stand up against this mode 
of warfare for any considerable time, and those around him 
rolled back horrified and dismayed. And at this moment, 
the hunters and troopers with the gallant young lieutenant 
at their head, burst from their cover among the rocks, and 
charged upon the main body of the Indians with a ringing 
cheer. 

The savages, notwithstanding that their superiority was 
still almost in the ratio of four to one, were taken com- 
pletely by surprise, and driven back several rods with great 
slaughter. 

Here, however, they made a successful stand*, and their 
assailants returned to their former position among the 
rocks, carrying with them Big Horn, who was sadly in need 
of a breathing spell after the extraordinary exertions he had 
gone through. 

He was covered with blood from top to toe, and every 
knife upon him was dripping and clotted with the gory 
trophies of the fight. 

‘'Noble fellow r exclaimed Dutton, grasping him by the 
hand, and making no effort to conceal his emotion; “what 
do we not owe you 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


161 


The others gathered around him, and looked upon him 
with mingled respect and awe. 

‘‘Wall, cap, I reckon I did the best I knowed how,^^ said 
the hunter of the period, with supreme modesty. “But it 
did look aleetle dusty aroun^ thar, eh? You must give me 
a chanceful- a leetle wind afore I light out among Ym agin, 
you know.^^ 

“Of course, my dear fellow. There^sno hurry, you know, 
i because I fancy we can easily keep them at bay from this 
position. By Jove! here they come again, in full force; 
land they must have had a reinforcement within the 
'last twenty minutes. Jewillikens! just look at the 
Indians.'’^ 

They were coming over the plain in rapid and irregular 
array, like a vast cloud; and it was evident at a glance that 
they had, indeed, received a reinforcement of fifty or sixty 
more warriors. 

The hunters and troopers, dismounting and placing their 
horses farther back among the rocks, took their positions 
behind the rocky wall and dauntlessly awaited the attack. 

Big Horn was still eeated upon the rock upon which he 
had sunk at the first, breathing heavily. 

“Give it to "em hot and heavy, cap/^ he gasped. “Fll 
git my wind agin purty soon.-’^ 


CHAPTER XXIIL 

THRILLING ADVENTURES. 

The Indians came on in serried array until within about 
four hundred yards of the position occupied by the whites— 
who kept up a galling fire from their breech-loaders from 
the moment they came in range— where they made a gene- 
ral halt, and about one-half their number began to dis- 
mount. 

By a preconcerted signal, all the Indians on foot made a 
grand rush at the top of their speed, regardless of the death- 
shots that decimated their ranks at every step of the way; 
and, almost befdr^ the whites appreciated the altered situa- 
tion, they were engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand fight 
at the very brink of their little stronghold. 

But at this time Big Horn got upon his feet. 


162 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


""Cheer up pards!"" he thundered, at the the top of his 
lungs. "‘The old man has got his wind.^^ 

With a bound, he was out of the rocks, and among the 
Indians, who fled, shrieking, from his immediate vicinity, 
as those terrible hands and arms, and feet and knees struck 
out among them, cutting, slashing, ripping, and tearing 
everything flesh within their reach, and as that steel- 
bristling head thrust and twisted itself this way and that 
with gory effect. 

The hunters stimulated to frenzy by his example, re- 
doubled their efforts with bullet and steel, and once more 
the rocks were cleared. But the Indians were stubborn, 
and only recoiled to return again with renewed ferocity and 
power. Four stalwart braves dashed in among the 
footmen on their ponies, and made a simultaneous charge 
upon Big Horn to ride him down. The hunter at once sent 
one of them to his account with the knife in his right 
hand, drove his spiked head full into the stomach of another, 
twisting it around and bringing out his entrails to the light 
of day, drove one of his elbows through the ribs of a third, 
knocking the fourth from his saddle by aback-handed blow 
from his left hand, chopped his head clean from the shoul- 
ders by a well-directed blow from his hatchet-guarded 
knee before he could regain his feet. Then, embracing 
one of the ponies around his neck, he lashed out behind 
with his feet-, like a vicious horse, sending four other braves 
to earth, with toe and heel from each foot. 

But, as he recovered himself, and stood upon his feet 
once more a fragment of rock, hurled by one of the outside 
Indians, smote him full upon the forehead, and he fell 
back senseless. 

A terrible shout arose from the savage ranks of the red- 
skins when they perceived their most dreaded antagonist 
senseless, and a rush was made to obtain his body, but the 
hunters and soldiers covered it with desperate valor, and 
poor Big Horn was dragged behind the rocks. 

The white men were almost heart-broken over the fall of 
their redoubtable chief, and the savages, with horrible yells, 
pressed on for a final charge, which, this time, must have, 
proved only too successful, had not at this moment, the 
Indians on the outside of the immediate fray, suddenly set 
up the appalling cry of ""Booglebooby!’"’ 

Renerved by that cry, the hunters*^ redoubled their strug- 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


163 


gles, and the Indians fell back a little, giving them a brief 
breathing-spell. 

^‘Courage, mates, courage^^ cried the well-known voice of 
Rocky Mountain Sam from somewhere up above the smoke 
and dust. 

And the next moment the balloon-car — armed at every 
point with long scythye blades, after a manner of a chariot 
of old — swept over the plain, literally mowing down the 
closely- arrayed warriors by dozens and scores, while Sam, 
Teddy, and old Max, each with a revolver in either hand, 
were cheering and shouting at the top of their voices. 

^‘Hurrah! hurrah^ wehe saved!^^ cried Lieutenant Dutton, 
who had Big HoriTs head upon his knees, laving his fore- 
head, and holding a flask of spirits to his as yet moveless 
lips. ^‘Upon them once more, my hearties!’"’ 

Such was the variable nature of the wind, that Max, by a 
dexti’ous management cf the steering apparatus, was 
enabled to guide the balloon again and again back and 
forth over the plain, the scythe-bristling car at each trip 
mowing down whole ranks of the savages, while those who 
remained upon their feet fled in shrieking dismay. 

The white men remounted their horses and dashed after 
them in the track of the balloon, which soon had leisure to 
devote itself to the mounted savages, knocking them out of 
their saddles like ten-pins, and shaving off many a pony^s 
head as clean as a whistle. 

As the smoke cleared away, the entire remaining force of 
Indians was revealed in panic-stricken flight. 

The injuries suffered by Big Horn were severe, but not 
dangerous. The usual appliances restored him to con- 
sciousness, and he smiled grimly as Sam informed him 
that the redskins- had been ‘^whipped clean out of their 
moccasins.^'’ 

^Ht is nearly sunset, said the professor, ^^and Sam and 
Teddy, and I will have to pass the night in a volcanic 
canon to the north-west in order to renew our supply of 
gas in the morning. I suppose you will push straight on, 
lieutenant?” 

^‘Yes; even if they do not see flt to reinforce us from 
Fort Benton,” said Dutton, somewhat bitterly. ^‘1 shall 
press on till I rescue my dear — I mean Miss Chapman — or 
perish in the attempt. 

At the suggestion of the professor, Lieutenant Dutton de- 


164 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


cided to send for assistance to Tort Benton by means of the 
balloon. In accordance with the decision the air-ship was 
afloat at an early hour the following morning. 

It sailed over the battle-field of the preceding day, and 
shortly afterward over the heads of their comrades, who 
had already struck their camp and were pursuing their 
journey northward. 

They were so far below them that no attempt was made 
toward communicating with them. 

‘‘'With this wind we ought to make Fort Benton in four 
hours at the most,'’^ said the professor, who had entirely re- 
covered his good nature. “After we have communicated 
with the fort we will then pay a visit to the generaUs.^^ 

^‘The generaTs?’’ echoed Sam. 

“Yes; the general, as they call him, is an eccentric 
character who has a large farm about six miles from Fort 
Benton. 

“I know very well who he is — Tve been there more than 
once with Big Horn,^^ said Sam, impatiently; “but what do 
we want to go there now for?^^ 

“To borrow some of his noted blood-hounds,'^ was the 
cheerful reply. “He is said to have three or four dozen of 
a very excellent breed. If we can induce him to lend us 
ten or fifteen, why I think we can make a sensation among 
the noble but untutored savages in our next difficulty; 
don’t you?^’ 

“Eayther,” said Sam. “Why, I saw some Siberian blood- 
hounds when I was there which he kept on purpose for 
huntin^ panthers and elk with that were strong and savage 
enough to tear the haunch of a grizzly bear in five min- 
utes.'"’ 

“Yes,^^ said tbe professor, “easily but it is needless for me 
to say that we don’t want ’em for the purpose of hunting 
bears or panthers, my son.” 

“But how in the name of wonder will ye carry such 
bastes in the car?” cried Teddy, somewhat aghast at the 
prospect. 

“Oh, we can muzzle them before shipping them; besides, 
they are said to be as playful as kittens toward those they 
like.” 

“Yis, bedad; but how d’ye know whither they’re going 
to like you or not?” 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


166 


^‘They^re said to have a mortal antipathy to Irishmen/' 
said Sam, grimly. 

‘^No more chaffing/' interrupted the professor. '‘Teddy, 
whirl at that crank like a man. Sam, jerk the throttle- 
valve. I think we might as well go a little lower down." 

The professor consulted the compass, and then leveling 
his glass, long and eagerly studied the country over which 
they were passing. 

“We're completely out of reckoning," at length, said he, 
raising a face indicative of the keenest disappointment. 
“The Judith Mountains are directly under us, and there is 
Judith River shining and curving at their base. We are at 
least sixty miles to south-ea^ of Fort Benton, and it is 
clouding up as if there were going to be a storm." 

Both Sam and Teddy put on rather long faces at this in- 
telligence. 

“Well, what's to be did?" said the former. “Shall we 
go up higher, an’ poke around for a more favorable cur- 
rent?" 

“AVait," said Max, with his eye to the glass. “I see some 
Indians down there at the base of the mountains, and they 
appear to be up to some deviltry or other. Lower away, 
Sammy; the gathering clouds will conceal us from view, 
while we can examine them at will. There, that will do," 
continued old Max, with the glass still to his eye. “We 
will just hang around on the skirts of the storm here till 
we see what the Indians are at." 

They all hung looking over the side of the car, and 
presently, as the clouds bpneath them rolled apart, they 
could plainly distinguish everything on the ground below. 

On the bank of the river— a wild and dashing tributary 
of the Missouri— and just at the base of a precipitous 
mountain-spur, about fifty Indians were gathered in a wild 
and barbarous dance around two captives, who were bound 
to a stake in the center of the group, and surrounded by all 
the horrible accessories for being burnt alive. 

The captives were a youth of about sixteen and a young 
girl about two years his senior. They were wailing loudly 
and clinging to each other in their terror. But their 
piteous supplications seemed to have no other effect upon 
their hideous captors other than to excite their derision; 
and among the latter were a number of squaws, young and 
old, who seemed to take especial pleasure in the fear and 


166 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


horror expressed by the female captive. All of the Indians 
were in war-paint, and it was evident at a glance that they 
were a predatory band belonging to the great Blackfeet tribe, 
who had made these luckless captives in the neighborhood 
of the fort, and, unwilling to be burdened with their con- 
veyance, were about to put them to death after the most 
horrible of the modes adopted by the savages. 

The balloon was only several hundred feet above their 
heads, and so close to the crag that the occupants of the 
car could have touched it with their hands; and yet so 
dense were the low, rolling thunder-clouds, combined with 
a tangled growth of pines and firs sticking almost straight 
out from the mountain wall, as to render them almost en- 
tirely concealed from the view of those below. 

‘‘The murtherin^ haythens!” muttered Teddy McGuire, 
as he gazed upon this affecting scene. “Why, the poor 
captives are nothin’ more nor childer, an’ the gurrell has a 
swate enough face to be Irish. 

“Sam,” said the professor, “just reach out with the crow- 
bar; and see if you can pry off that big rock jutting out 
nearest to the car.” 

“Is it an avalanche you’re afther sindin’ down on their 
mugs?” cried Teddy. “Sure, an’ won’t it desthroy the 
childer, as well as the red divils?” 

“No; I’ve calculated the distance, and they are too far 
away from the base of the cliff to receive injury. Only this 
group directly below us here will experience the effects. Pry 
away, Sam.” 

Sam leaned over the side, crowbar in hand, and pryed 
away at the overhanging rock with a will. 

The Indians directly beneath were at first apprised of 
something unusual going on over their heads by a few in- 
significant twigs and chunks of earth falling among them, 
which set them to arguing among themselves in the most 
outlandish gibberish as to the cause thereof— seeing that the 
fragments seemed to come directly out of the clouds, while 
a few of them moved apprehensively away, but the majority 
of them remained where they were, jabbering and gesti- 
culating, until suddenly the great rock, accompanied by a 
small tree or two and great masses of earth, came roaring 
and plunging down the precipice, burying more than half 
of their number out of sight, while the remainder fied in 
every direction, uttering the most dismal yells. 


ROCKY MOUNTA.IN SAM. 


167 


“Now^s the time for rescue! Pull the throttle-valve, SamT^ 
cried the professor, and the next instant, and while the 
savages were still in the midst of their terror, the balloon 
burst through the cloudy canopy, and swept down among 
them. 

“Booglebooby! Booglebooby!^^ 

They scattered on either side of that dread approach like 
dead leaves before the tempest. 

‘^Here, Teddy, help the poor girl into the car; she has 
fainted, said Rocky Mountain Sam, leaning over the side 
and severing the captive^’s thongs with his hunting-knife. 

McGriiire did not wait for a second bidding, and, raising 
the unconscious girl in his powerful arms had her inside 
the car in a moment, while the youth, her companion, 
bounded in of his own accord as lightly as a fawn. 

^‘Chuck out the ballast roared' the professor, ^^theyTe 
recovering from their surprise and are about to make an 
attack. 

Laying his burden on a heap of blankets and robes at the 
bottom of the car, Teddy began to heave out the sand-bags; 
but while they still clung to the ground under the burden of 
the added weight a dozen or more brawny hands seized the 
car, and several dusky and angry faces glowered over the 
side. 

‘‘Hands roared Sam, grasping a crowbar, and crack- 
ing three or four crowns, like dried pumpkin-rinds, at a 
single sweep; while the professor, drawing his small revolver, 
shot down a brave who wore a moccasin snake knotted about 
his neck like a schoolboy^s domforter. 

“Out with the bags!” cried Sam, dropping his bar and 
knifing another Indian as he was just about to leap into the 
car. 

Teddy obeyed, and the air-ship began to surge upward. 

“Here, my lad, do you know how to use this?^'' said old 
Max, thrusting a spare revolver into the hands of the boy. 

“You bet!” was the laconic reply, and the lad at once and 
coolly opened fire, bringing down his man, while Teddy, 
having disposed of plenty of the ballast, seized a hatchet 
and lopped off a pair of hands that grasped the car nearest 
to him. 

As the car struggled up a dozen or more feet above the 
earth, and the remaining Indians, one by one, relinquished 
their hold, Sam leaned over, and grapnel in hand, hooked 


JROCKY FOUNTAIN SAIST. 


m 

up one of the savages by the seat of his buckskin leggings, 
the professor did the same on his side, other redskins clung 
to those captured, and as the riddance of a few more sand- 
bags at the hands of the Irishman sent the balloon whirling 
aloft, the victims were carried, squirming and struggling, 
over the deep-flowing river. 

‘'Souse ^em in the shtrameT’ cried Teddy, leaning over 
the side, and tickling the nearest savage on the top of the 
head with his hupting-knife; “souse ^em in the water 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE GEHERAL^S PETS. 

“Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war.” 

As the balloon careered over the stream, the Indians 
forming the extremities of the dangling chains held by Sam 
and the professor struck the water with a loud splash, caus- 
ing them to lose their hold and tumble headlong into the 
deep current. 

Then as the balloon, with the loss of each additional 
weight, rose higher and more buoyantly into the air, one 
after another the savages were dropped upon the surround 
ing country, until only these two that had been originally 
hooked up remained, and these were also shaken loose just 
as the balloon re-entered the rack of storm-clouds, and dis- 
appeared, shrieking into the misty depths. 

The boy who had been rescued was now crying bitterly, 
but Avas assisting Teddy as well as he could to revive his 
insensible companion — a very handsome girl of about 
eighteen, who proved to be his sister. 

In a few moments the girl was sufficiently recovered to sit 
up and look about her; though both she and her brother 
were filled with Avonder and alarm at flnding themselves 
sailing through the atmosphere. 

“Sure, affiiPs shwimmiiP in the air Ave are, PaddyT^ she 
exclaimed, clasping her brother in her arms, and looking at 
her rescuers with mingled apprehension and alarm. 

“Begorra! my beauty, an' AvadnT ye rather be in the air 
than have thim red divils a fryiffian^ roasthin^ av ye?^'’ cried 
Mr. McGuire. “YouTe in the hands av min affi honorable 
gintlemen. WhaPs your name, honey 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


169 


‘^Norah Rafferty, plase your honor, an^ this is my dear 
brother, Paddy, at your sarvice.’"’ 

They soon extracted from the whilom captives that their 
father possessed a small stock farm within a few miles of 
Fort Benton. They had gone down the river on a boating 
expedition on the preceding day, and had been captured by 
the Indians, who after getting from them all the informa- 
tion they could respecting the strength of the fort and the 
numbers of the garrison, had decided to burn them to death, 
which hapless fate had been averted by the timely arrival 
of the balloon. Of course they were overjoyed to learn that 
they were being borne directly to Fort Benton, and would 
soon, in all probability, meet their parents and friends. 

Mr. McGuire improved his opportunities for doing the 
agreeable so well and gallantly that before reaching the 
journey's end he had, to all appearances, created a very 
favoraWe impression on the mind of Miss Norah, besides 
hopelessly losing his own heart. 

It still wanted two hours of sunset when the balloon 
hovered over the extensive barracks, out-buildings, and 
corral's, constituting Fort Benton, and a short time there- 
after they effected a a descent, much to the surprise of the 
officers and soldiers of the garrison. 

'No sooner were they fairly landed than Norah and her 
brother were brought face to face with their poor father, 
who had come in from his ranch in the almost forlorn hope 
of hearing some tidings from his lost ones, and whose meet- 
ing with his children was a most touching sight. 

Leaving Sam and Teddy to explain the adventures of the 
day to the excited groups of which they speedily became the 
center. Professor Max Airy immediately sought the com- 
mandant, and in the presence of a number of other officers 
gave him a detailed account of everything that had taken 
place from the second capture of Miss Chapman and Fay- 
away. 

“You bring important intelligence, indeed,"^ said the 
commanding officer, after refecting some moments at the 
conclusion of the professors story. ^.T was aware that some 
of the Blackfeet were on the war-path— as, indeed, when are 
they not at some place or another? but was unprepared to 
hear of so general a rising. Lieutenant Dutton shall be 
reinforced at once. Though our garrisons here are by no 
means overcrowded, I can at least spare a full company of 


170 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


cavalry, who shall set out to-morrow at daybreak. Where do 
you expect to join Dutton and his command 

^‘I will rejoin him to-morrow, at the junction of Miry 
Fork and Marias Eiver, one hundred miles to the north- 
west. From that point, if not attacked, he will proceed 
along the Marias to the mouth of Birch River, where he 
will await any reinforcements you may send him.'’'’ 

‘'‘They shall have their orders accordingly. Of course 
the principal object of young Dutton is the rescue of Miss 
Chapman, or the Prairie Blossom, as she is called,” added 
the officer, with a smile. 

“That is the principal object of every man composing the 
expedition,” said Max. “Not one of them will be satisfied 
until Firefoot, the renegade, is killed or captured in his lair, 
and his captives released.” 

“It will be the best thing for the renegade if he is killed, 
and not captured,” said the commandant, sternly; “for I 
would hardly be responsible for what might happen should 
he fall alive into the hands of my soldiers. And yet,'” he 
continued, in a sadder tone, and more as if speaking to him- 
self than aloud, “I remember the time when I looked upon 
Robert Scarlet as a brother — when we all liked and esteemed 
him; and there are some charitable enough to suppose that 
he is insane.” 

“I beg to subscribe myself among that number,” said the 
professor, so sententiously as to cause all of the officers to 
smile, for he himself was probably looked upon as weak in 
the upper story, even more generally than was the hapless 
individual under discussion. 

The necessary orders were issued for a detachment to be 
ready to start at daybreak. “In the meantime,” continued 
the officer, addressing Max, “you and your companion bal- 
loonists must consider yourselves as my guests.” 

“With many thanks to you, that is simply impossible,” 
said the professor, making known his desire to visit the 
“general” at his ranch, in"^ order to procure a loan of the 
blood-hounds. 

“Why, as to that, you need not go far,” said the com- 
mandant. “The ‘general’ is at the present moment visiting 
ore of the officers on the other side of the yard, and you 
can have an interview with him at once.” 

Overjoyed to hear this, the professor respectfully took 
his departure, and soon afterward came upon the object of 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


171 


his search, who with a number of officers, was one of a 
group listening to Eocky Mountain Sam’s description of his 
mid-air exploits. 

Mr. Eafferty had borne his children homeward to relieve 
the anxiety of their mother, and Teddy, at first quite dis- 
consolate at the loss of Miss Norah^s society, was now spin- 
ning his yarns at the butler^s store, and getting drunk from 
frequent potations as rapidly as could be expected under the 
circumstances. 

The ‘^^general,^^ as he was called, a bluff old frontiers- 
man, who had spent three-fourths of an eventful life in the 
wilderness, and was of considerable consequence among his 
rude neighbors — upon being apprised of the nature of the 
professor’s request, responded most heartily. 

^^Blood-hounds he exclaimed. ^TVe got two dozen of 
^em, either one of which can rip the backbone out of a 
buffaler in two minutes by the watch, an’ you can have all 
you can carry under your gas-bag. An’ if you want more 
gas, why there’s a canon five miles beyant my house that 
smells loud enough to warrant its holding all the gas in 
creation. Jist fill up there in the morning, and then drop 
down on my place for breakfast, and I’ll show you the 
ani miles.” 

At an early hour on the following morning the balloon 
descended into one of the corrals connected with the 
general’s ranch, where they found him, together with a 
number of his men, waiting to receive them. 

, ^‘Welcome, my hearties!” cried the proprietor of the 
estate, most heartily, when the balloon was fairly anchored 
and the occupants of the car had stepped out upon the 
ground. ^‘We have already prepared a rousing breakfast 
for ye, and after that we’ll proceed to business an’ take a 
look at the pups.” 

The guests and others were soon seated before a substantial 
and appetizing repast, and did ample Justice to the excel- 
lence of the meal, while the host enlivened our friends by 
an apparently inexhaustible fund of anecdotes relating to 
the wild pioneer life he had so many years been leading. 

^‘So you see from a hunter I became a trapper, and from 
a trapper I became a ranchman, an’ gradually grew rich for 
one in this ’ere Heaven-deserted, God-forsaken region,” said 
he, in winding up a cursory sketch of his general history. 
^T’ve allers gone in on the principle of not keering a cuss for 


172 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


nobody who don’t keer for me, and that ’ere doctrine, along 
with never trusting an Injun out of long range, has brought 
me luck. I don’t owe a darned cent in the world. So I’m 
just as happy as a prince, an’ don’t keer whether school 
keeps or not. Well, gentlemen,” he added, some moments 
later, ^‘you all seem to have finished your grub, so suppose 
we go out to see the pups; it’s about the time my men feed 
them.” 

Following the general and his hired men, the aeronauts 
passed out of the house, and approached an inclosure which 
evidently, from the chorus of deep-throated, angry growls 
issuing therefrom, constituted the kennel of the hounds. 

^‘We’ll just go up here,” said the general, pointing to a 
number of rude steps leading up to the top of the stockade, 
^^and take a glance at the pups.” 

They followed him up the steps and looked over into the 
corral. 

^^There!” exclaimed the general, fairly beaming with 
pride and good nature, ‘^aren’t they beauties?” 

In a deep inclosure, about twenty yards square, at one 
end of which were clustered a number of peak-roofed kennels 
for the shelter of the brutes, were gathered between twenty 
and thirty of the most formidable specimens of the canine 
species it had ever been the lot of the enterprising balloonists 
to gaze upon; while here and there in shining heaps were 
scattered the bones of the fiesh which they had consumed 
at some previous meal. 

The dogs included a number of breeds, and were all of 
enormous size and ferocious aspect, with blood-shot eyes and 
terrible teeth, which they seemed to be very fond of show- 
ing at intervals, with a sort of canine pride, as though per- 
petually anticipating some feast of blood. 

^‘There!’’ repeated the proprietor, with emphasis, ^^aren’t 
they beauties! I’ll tell you the different breeds while my 
men are bringing in the carcass for their morning meal! — ^^I 
only feed ’em once a day— and then you can decide which 
sort you prefer to take with you. You see them, fellers with 
long ears and heavy chops, that keep their muzzles so close 
to the ground, as though they was snuffin’ up a dinner from 
the bowels of the earth — them’s regular Southern blood- 
hounds they used to run down runaway niggers with through 
the rice swamps and canebrakes. Then them suckers with 
pointed ears, that hold their mugs so high, as though about 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


173 


to jump for a panther in a treetop — them’s true Siberians, 
as ain’t got their equals for strength, but are a leetle faulty 
on the scent. Then there’s two thoroughbred Scotch stag- 
hounds; and that one-eyed, shaggy cuss there-— the biggest 
brute in the kennel — is a cross between a Saint Bernard and 
a Siberian. He’s my favorite. Come here, Chawer, old 
boy.” 

He leaped right down among them, and the guests at first 
drew back in horror, half expecting to see him torn to 
pieces. But the beasts were more susceptible to kindness 
than their hungry looks had indicated. They all came 
whining and fawning around their master in playful bounds, 
and the monstrous brute he had called by name licked his 
hand and rubbed his brindled head against his knees to 
show the dumb delight with which special attention had in- 
spired him. 

^‘These pups have an exeellent memory,” said the master 
of the hounds, looking up with a smile. ^‘From their hav- 
ing seen you with me as my friends, any one of you here- 
after might handle them with perfect impunity. They will 
even follow you and obey you implicitly, should I direct 
them to do so.” 

^‘Since we’ve got to get used to ’em sooner or later, here 
goes!’’ said Sam, swinging himself lightly over the in- 
closure. 

The master had spoken nothing but truth, and the hun- 
ter’s perfect fearlessness inspired the brutes with respect and 
gentleness, for they clustered about him and responded to 
his caresses after the usual canine fashion of being pleased. 

^‘You’d better all come down, and they’ll come to know 
and like you all the sooner,” said the general. 

Old Max was the next one to venture, but Teddy required 
considerable persuading, for, though brave as a lion in a 
contest with his own kind, his repugnance to dogs was 
almost as great as to serpents. But pretty soon they were 
all at home among the inhabitants of the kennel. 

^^Now draw back here in this corner and see ’em feed,” 
said the general, “for I hear the men hoisting a carcass 
over the wall.” 

They all drew apart, while the hounds, already scenting 
their coming feast, began to growl and snuff the air impa- 
tiently. The next moment, the entire carcass of a freshly 


174 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


killed bullock was rolled over into the pit, and they fastened 
upon it with a gratified howl. 

^'Well, as this ain^t very pleasant, we’d better get out of 
this until they get ‘through with their hash,” said the gen- 
eral, unlocking and opening a small door in the side of the 
corral, through which he was not unreluctantly followed by 
his guests, inasmuch as the spectacle within was more san- 
guine than interesting. 

^'Now, how many of ^em d^3^e want to take with ye?’^ 
asked the general, as they strolled back to the place where 
the balloon was anchored. ^^You can have the whole two 
dozen of ^em, if you wish.” 

“No, thank )mu; but I suppose we can make room for 
twelve or fifteen,” said the professor, with some hesitation. 
“Is — is there any way of muzzling them, till we want to use 
them?’^ 

“Muzzling them!” echoed the general. “You don^t want 
to muzzle ^em. After I put ^em in the car, they’ll be as gen- 
tle as lambs, till they see a bear or a redskin; and you needn^t 
trouble yourseh^es about bringing ^em back home again 
either. When you’ve got through with ’em, just p’int their 
noses in the right direction, pat ’em on the backs, and let 
’em scoot. They’ll find their way back here from anywheres 
within a circle of two hundred miles. All you’ve got to do 
is to not let ’em get too infernal hungry. Eun down some 
sort of game with ’em— bear meat they like best — about 
once a day, and you won’t have no trouble at all. 

In about half an hour they had their singular cargo 
aboard — fifteen hounds in all, including Chawer, the favor- 
ite — and were making their adieus to the general and his 
household. 

As the balloon rapidly arose, the hounds at first mani- 
fested some restlessness at their novel situation, but soon 
grew very quiet and docile, until Chawer at length snuffed 
out the remains of some bear meat which chanced to be in 
the car, the remains of a previous meal prepared by the 
hunters. This they at once lit upon as if they had not 
tasted food for a mouth, the voyagers wisely abstaining from 
interfering in the repast. After disposing of everything 
there was to eat, they huddled together in the bottom of the 
car, and began to lick their chops and snooze, much to the 
relief especially of Teddy, who had viewed the inroads 
caused by their rapacious appetites with undisguised alarm. 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


176 


As the balloon reached the vicinity of Miry Fork, the 
professor fora long time anxiously searched the country with 
his telescope, in hopes of finding some traces of the hunters 
and soldiers, but without success. 

"'Mebbe they've had another fight, an' been wiped out,'’ 
said Teddy. 

‘impossible, you blundering fool!" exclaimed old Max, 
but with a nervousness which showed that his own appre- 
hensions were scarcely less than his subordinate's. ^‘We 
will leave Miry Fork, and keep up the Marias, since the 
wind holds well. It may be that, instead of being behind- 
hand, they have got beyond us. Who knows?" 

Rocky Mountain Sam's keenness of vision proved — and 
not for the first time either — to be more searching than the 
professor's spy-glass; for, as they swept up to the north-west, 
at an altitude of about a mile and a half toward Birch River 
— a small, deep tributary of the Marias, he suddenly called 
out: 

^‘There they are, by crimminy! and they're having a 
fight, too. Don't you see the smoke of their guns?" 

^^Yes, I do now, and I can hear the shots, too," said Max, 
not a little chagrined at having his telescope thrown into 
the background by the unaided eyes of his companion. 
^Tull the valve a little, Sam, and let us get a little closer to 
them. Ah!" he continued, presently; ^^they are, indeed, 
engaged, and cannot long hold their own against such odds, 
unaided. AVhy, by Heaven! the Indians appear to be num- 
berless; they occupy the entire plain at the foot of the 
mountain, and there's a mud volcano in full blast almost 
between the combatants. 

As they drew nearer, they were enabled to take in the 
whole situation at a glance. The hunters and soldiers were, 
as usual, acting upon the defensive. They occupied a little 
grove of fir trees, with their rear and one flank defended by 
the two streams, while the Indians, as Max had said, seemed 
to literally cover the broad plain in front, with their rear 
resting against the base of a steep mountain side, whose 
summit, bare of trees, was covered with huge bowlders and 
other rocky fragments. 

It was evident at a glance that there was now a pause in 
the fight, and that the savages, thus far, had been unable, 
to dislodge the hunters from their position. One or two 


176 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


hundred of the Indians were mounted, but the large major- 
ity of them were on foot. 

^^The Injuns haven’t noticed us yet/’ said Sam; ^^so why 
not let them first know of our presence by sailing over to 
the top of the mountain, and rolling down some of them 
big bowlders among them?” 

^‘Capital!” exclaimed the professor. ^^Teddy, jump to 
the fan-wheel, and give her a turn or two.” 


CHAPTER XXV. 

THE DOGS OF VTAR. 

^^Get out a crowbar, Sam, while I cast anchor here for a 
few seconds,” called out the professor, as the balloon paused, 
hovering on the brow of the stony steep. ‘^Teddy, leave 
that fan-wheel, you blundering boo%! and get a bar to help 
Sam. Keep the dogs inside of the car.” 

The first intimation the savages had of the proximity of 
the balloon was a rumbling, thundering sound along the 
steep mountain side, and the next instant a bowlder about 
as large as an average-sized barn came rolling and plowing 
down among them, upsetting, crushing, and overwhelming 
them by the score, and raising a most terrible dust. 

They ran about in terror and dismay, while the be- 
leaguered white men, now perceiving the balloon for the first 
time, set up a tremendous shout and reopened fire upon 
their foes with redoubled vigor. 

But before the Indians could sufficiently recover from 
their surprise and terror to institute a regular retreat from 
their dangerous position at the foot of the hill, another, and 
yet another and another rock, in quick succession, came 
tumbling and swooping down upon them with frightful 
effect, till they apparently thought that the entire mountain 
was being turned inside out by an earthquake, and began to 
stream farther away from the foot of the hill in the most 
frantic disorder, leaving their crushed , and mangled com- 
panions in scores to take care of themselves as best they 
might. 

But the Indians were soon enabled to make another stand, 
on account of their overwhelming superiority in numbers, 
though with courage and confidence sadly shaken and dis- 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


177 


tnayed, and a blind, furious rush caused the hunters and 
soldiers to again retire to their sheltered position. 

In the meantime, the balloonists being unable to handle the 
rocks to any further advantage, were busy fastening the 
scythe-blades to the sides of the car, as upon a former occa- 
sion, and restraining the dogs from bounding out of the 
car. 

^‘There, Teddy, fasten one more blade to your side of 
the car, and that will be enough, cried Max. ‘^^Sam, 
stand by to cast off the anchor when I give the word.^^ 

‘^^All right!^^ responded Sam, with his usual alacrity; 
'^but what are you going to do with that meat-can in 
your hand?^’ 

“It isn’t a meat-can; it’s a can of something else, and 
I sha’n’t use it until the last extremity. Cast off the an- 
chor.” 

Sam did so, the professor at the same time pulled the 
valve-cord, and the balloon and its appurtenances went 
teai-ing and plunging down the mountain-side like a tor- 
nado. 

“Sam, help Teddy to keep the hounds in, and don’t let 
’em out until I give the word,” cried the professor. 

The Indians were evidently a different set from those en- 
gaged in the battle of Oadott’s Pass, for they absolutely 
suspected nothing of the nature of the attack till the scythe- 
bristling car swept in among them, mowing them down 
right and left. 

When they had passed once through the stricken ranks, 
and tiie Indians were either flying toward the mountains in 
abject terror, or were grouped together almost paralyzed 
with nameless fear, the professor suddenly sang out at the 
top of his lungs: 

“Let slip the Doas of war!” 

The effect was almost indescribable. With Chawer in the 
lead, the whole pack of hounds burst from control with a 
terrible yell and launched themselves upon the terror- 
stricken hordes. 

Every hound, true to his instincts, sprang full at the 
throat, and it seemed that at the first charge each brought 
down a victim; and not a victim stirred again after having 
been once brought to the earth — the crushing power of 
those terrible fangs was so sure. 

Sam, the professor, and Teddy still halted in their career 


178 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


to cheer on the hounds and witness their prowess, and the 
hunters, again breaking cover, charged the dismayed and 
faltering savages with signal effect. Big Horn being on foot, 
armed with knives and hatchets, cap-a-pie, as before, and 
performing prodigies of valor. 

^^Go in, pard!"’"’ he yelled at the top of his voice, as but a 
small space of struggling humanity separated him for a mo- 
ment from the balloonists. ^^Them pups know their biz, 
an^ weh*e about to clean ^em out.^^ 

As he spoke he brought down an Indian with either hand, 
ripped up a brace of ponies by a couple of flying kicks from 
his double-bladed feet, chopping his way forward with the 
tomahawks at his knees and elbows, and thrusting his spiky 
head -piece into the diaphragm of another luckless savage, 
whirled his head around like the wheel of a patent straw- 
cutter with gory effect. 

‘^Cheer upU^ responded Sam, blazing away right and left 
with his revolver, while his companions were just as busily 
and disastrously employed. ‘‘There’s a whole company on 
their way to join you from the fort.” 

Dutton and a number of others heard this cheering news 
and welcomed it with a ringing cheer as they pressed for- 
ward into the thick of the fight. 

As it became evident that the dogs must soon tire of a 
contest so energetically pursued, and as the Indians, again 
buoyed up by their superiority of numbers, began to recover 
from their demoralization and to reorganize and fight back 
with vigor, the professor decided to cut through them again 
with the balloon. 

“We’re too near the ground— chuck out a bag or two, 
Sam!” he cried. “Teddy, stand by the fan-wheel.” 

In addition to providing the car with scythe-blades, the 
four wings of the great fan-wheel, or steering apparatus, 
had been denuded of their sails and armed with knives and 
hatchets from the hub to their extremities, so that now 
when the car rushed mowing . its way through the reeling 
ranks of the red men, the great wheel, set into sturdy mo- 
tion by the brawny arms of the Irishman, began to revolve 
with tremendous effect, chopping, slicing, cutting, and slash- 
ing everything that opposed it, and effectually disposing of 
those whose good luck permitted them to escape the ruinous 
sweep of the scythes. 

Again and again did that terrible air-chamber of destru.a*^ 


EOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


179 


tion swing this way and that through the dusky hordes, ably 
seconded by the hunters and the hounds, until at last the 
Indians, wearied, dazed, discouraged and horror-stricken 
at being minced and hashed up in this ruthless manner, 
broke all along their line and fled in heedless panic toward 
the mountains. 

Lieutenant Dutton rode up to where the balloon had 
come to an anchor at last and heartily saluted the worn-out 
heroes of the car. 

‘‘Nobly done and nobly won!^^ he exclaimed. “By 
heavens! I was aln^ost in despair before you came to the 
rescue; their vast numbers had well-nigh appalled ine.^^ 

“Bully for our side, pard!^^ said Big Horn, also coming 
up at this moment, covered with the blood of the enemy 
from head to foot, but scarcely able to stand from extreme 
fatigue. “But the scrimmage is over for the present, aiU 
we ain’t got strength enough to keep up the chase. Better 
call in your dogs, pard!^' 

“That is true,^^ said Sam, and placing to his lips a pecu- 
liar whistle which had been given him by the general for 
this purpose, h^ blew a blast almost as loud and shrill as the 
whistle of a steam engine. 

Only thirteen of the dogs came bounding back to the re- 
call. Two of them had died the death; but the valiant 
Chawer was among the living, while all were more or less 
injured and nearly worn out from the excess of their own 
ferocity, with dripping jaws and bloodshot-eyes. 

It was necessary to reconnoiter the position of the enemy 
and observe their movements; therefore, on the following 
morning it was decided to make an ascension. The dogs 
were left behind, in charge of Big Horn and Teddy, while 
the professor and Sam entered the car, and were soon soar- 
ing upward. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

LARIATING A RENEGADE. 

Contrary currents were encountered about a mile above 
the earth, and all the efforts of the professor to control the 
balloon proved unavailing. 

“Drat the old bag,^' said Max at last, in despair, “let her 
slide. 


180 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


It was not long before they had cause to congratulate 
themselves upon the luck which had seemed so dead against 
them at first; for in less than an hour they perceived a 
large Indian encampment lying to the north, and the queer 
professor forgot pretty much everything else as he un- 
sheathed and placed his beloved telescope to his eye. 

‘^^Why, there must be over two hundred lodges/’ he ex- 
claimed. “Big Horn was right. The enemy we whipped 
so soundly yesterday has a large reserve to. fall back upon.^^ 

‘ 'That's so/' said the other; but isn’t that a man on 
horseback just below us? though to me the two of 'em to- 
gether don't look anybigger'n a fust-class cockroach." 

“Yes," replied Max, directing his glass accordingly, 
“and an Indian from his garb — or, rather from his lack 
of it. But I wonder why he should be so remote from his 
camp?" 

“Purfessor, I've a sort of a inspiration," cried Sam. 
“Just lend me that squintin’ tube a minute, will you?" 

"Certainly, my son." 

“It's him, it's him, by hookey!" roared the young hunter, 
a second or two after the glass had been applied to his eye. 
“I felt it heatin' an' whisperin' at my heart. Bv Jupiter, 
it’s him!" “ • 

“Whom, my son?’' calmly inquired the elder sky-scraper, 
receiving back the telescope. 

“Who? Why, Eube Tenyck," was the delighted reply. 

“I think I call to mind the ruffian you particularize," 
said the White Hermit, still mildly. “But may I be per- 
mitted to inquire what the duse is the difference whom the 
solitary horsemen may be?" 

“What makes you so muddy, old pard? Don't you see we 
must capture him at once? He's the only one in the world, 
maybe, who can put us on the scent of Firefoot's hidinir- 
place." 

“Ahr 

The professol- grasped the valve-cord, and as the balloon 
swiftly descended, Sam got his grapnels and lariats in readi- 
ness. 

The “solitary horseman" was unaware of the presence of 
danger until the shadow of the balloon just before him on 
the ground caused his pony to rear and shy. Then, casting 
his glance upward, he gave a yell as he took in the nature 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


181 


of the impending danger, and bending to the saddle-bow, 
plunged the spurs into his pony^s flanks. 

It was the same Rube Tenyck the reader will remember 
as figuring so unenviably in the former chapters of this 
work; the same brawny, thickset ruffian, in the plumes and 
war-paint of an Indian warrior, which stamped him among, 
white men as even a more contemptible renegade than his 
master. 

^‘How are you now, Rube?^^ sung out the young hunter, 
as the car swung to within ten or fifteen feet of the earth. 
^‘Don^t bein a hurry old fellow; I want you on particular 
business."” 

Here he made the first cast with his lariat. It was not 
successful, the loop glancing harmlessly over horse and man 
as the rider bent forward until his forehead touched his 
pony^s ears. 

The second throw was more successful. The loop passed 
over the heads of both horse and man, and the running 
noose bound them together in one common band in an in- 
stant. 

The pony reared, and became frantic with affright; but 
before the hunter could tighten his hold to sufficient ad- 
vantage, the renegade with admirable presence of mind, 
drew his knife with one hand that chanced to be free and 
severed the lariat above his head in a twinkling. 

Then casting aside the noose that fettered his pony and 
himself, he again dashed forward with a shout of triumph 
and defiance, for there was a piece of timber about half a 
mile in front, and could he but gain that he was safe. 

^^Oh, ho! I suppose you fancy there is only one lariat in 
the world, my fine fellow, said Sam, rapidly coiling up 
another of the same sort, preparatory for a cast. “I never 
go a fishing without an extra line. Here goes! the third 
time’s always lucky.” 

Again he threw the line, and this time he Avas wholly suc- 
cessful. 

Deeming himself completely out of danger, the renegade 
was sitting perfectly erect in his saddle. The noose caught 
him fairly around the body, pinioning his arms to his side, 
and the next instant he was swept from his saddle — the 
brute that had borne him passing on, riderless, into the 
timber— and found himself dangling in the air, and roaring 


182 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


and bellowing for mercy, while his captor laughed merrily 
over his head. 

‘^Tiirow out a bag or two, professor, and we'll give him 
a good dance upon the air before we draw him in,^^ said 
Sam, making fast the lariat to the side of the car; while the 
balloon bounded up with renewed buoyancy as the old 
aeronaut relieved her of a few hundred weight of ballast. 

In a moment or two they had reached an altitude of over a 
mile. 

‘ 'Hooray, Sam!^^ cried old Max, giving the steering ap- 
paratus a turn or two, "weVe struck the right current, 
an^ will be in camp in less than an hour and a half.^’ 

But Sam was leaning over the side of the car, chiefly oc- 
cupied in lecturing the individual who dangled below. 

"Youh’e a nice young man with a glass eye and copper 
bugle, aren't you, Kube Tenyck ?” said he, in his softest and 
blandest accents. "What have you got to say for yourself, 
anyway?" 

"You orter be ashamed o' persecutin' a innocent screamer 
so rantankerous as you do all the time," whined the rascal 
at the end of the rope, 

"Ashamed! So I am; I feel myself blushing all over, and 
could almost weep," said our hero, in a sniffling tone. 
"Still, I'll try to bear up." 

"Sam," called up the voice from below, "whatever you 
intend doing with me for Heaven's sake, haul me up into 
the car. It's horrible to be hung out here over this infernal 
depth. Ugh!"- 

"Bear a hand, professor, and let's have pity on him just so 
far," said Sam; and presently by their united efforts. Rube' 
Tenvck was drawn into the car, where, after being deprived 
of his weapons, the lariat was removed, and his arms were 
free. 

In half an hour the camp came in sight and there was 
great excitement as the balloon touched the earth. After 
the captive was duly placed under guard, Lieutenant Dut- 
ton said. 

"I see you have a valuable prisoner, Sam. When shall 
we hang him?" 

"Well, that depends," said Sam. Rube had been placed 
under guard out of hearing. "He expects to be hanged, 
that's certain; but if he can tell us just where to lay our hands 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


1S3 


upon the objects of oiir search — upon Firefoot and his cap- 
tives, you know — it might be worth his pardon.” 

afraid the men of our command would not listen to 
saving his life,” said young Dutton, doubtfully. 

Indeed, the hunters who had heard the proposition already 
began to grumble in a menacing manner. Sam thereupon 
appealed to Big Horn, who, after having enchangeda hand- 
clasp and greeting, had remained standing silently near, 
well knowing that his opinion would be the same as the law 
laid down. 

^H’ve knowed Rube Tenyck nigh outer ten year,” said the 
great hunter, slowly, ’^an^ though he^s as mean^s a skunk in 
a tar barrel, I kin put my fin on a dozen white men jist as 
mean in this ere territory. An’ I say as how he ain’t wuth 
bangin’, if you kin make anything outer him by savin’ his 
life. If he kin an’ will tell all the roostin’ places of Fire- 
foot, why then we kin keep him under guard, an’ if he 
tells a square story, his life orter be spared. Them’s my 
opinions.” 

He cast a glare around him as he pronounced these 
words, and it is needless to say there was no more dissent- 
ing among the hunters. 

' ‘Suppose we cross-examine our prisoner,’ said Dutton, 
“and see what he has to say. Sam, you and Big Horn, the 
professor and myself will draw apart and constitute our- 
selves into a drumhead Court of Inquiry. Come along. 
Come, Professor Max ; the ballon is secured, is it not ?” 

They drew apart to the summit of a little grassy knoll, 
and Rube was brought before them forthwith. Overjoyed 
at a prospect of saving his neck, he gave them a full de- 
scription of the whereabouts and nature of Firefoot’s hid- 
ing-places in which he would be most likely to secrete and 
imprison his captives. Notes were taken by both Dutton 
and Max, and the nature of these fastnesses will be un- 
folded to the reader in the course of the further adventures 
of the balloon. 

Suffice it to say that it was definitely agreed that Dutton 
and his party should remain where they were, preparing 
for every defense in case of an attack, while the professor 
and his experienced assistants should prosecute all further 
explorations over the heads of the intervening hostile 
hordes. 

In due time the balloon was reballasted and provisioned 


184 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


and everything was made ready for a voyage. Within a short 
distance of the air-ship, which tugged and swayed at its an- 
chorage as if impatient to be free, were Dutton, Max, Rocky 
Mountain Sam, Teddy, and Big Horn, the four latter 
already equipped for their expedition. 

^^Well, said Dutton, ^‘'everything is very well understood, 
then. You, professor have taken down from the lips of 
Rube Tenyck — who of course, will be held under strict 
guard until your return — the directions for discovering the 
chief hiding-places of Firefoot to the north-west, and will 
act as the guide to the party. You may be gone but a day or 
two, or you may be gone a fortnight, but when you return, 
you will find us securely intrenched, for we shall begin to 
fortify to-morrow. I believe there is nothing more to say, 
except good-by.'’^ 

The young officer exhibited considerable emotion in tak- 
ing them each by the hand, and a moment later all of the 
voyagers were in the car but Big Horn. 

The great hunter paused before clambering on board, 
and then said: 

‘'‘Hold on, mates, we must take in another passenger. 
Pard, jist whistle fur that prime dog, Chawer. We canT 
git along without him, an’ cap he’ll still have a dozen of 
’em remainin’.” 

“A good idea,” said Dutton. 

Sam whistled up the dog, which had suddenly exhibited 
an extraordinary affection for Big Horn. Tlie latter tossed 
him into the car, and then climbed in himself; the anchor 
was tripped, and the voyagers gave three cheers as they swam 
off into the wake of a superb sunset, rising higher and 
higher as they sheered away. 

“We shall go due west right into the mountains, since 
the wind is that way,” said the professor, ‘‘until we find a 
good canon in which to pass the night, and whose supply 
of gas will enable us to make a fresh start to the north- 
ward. If I mistake not our explorations this time will 
bring us on the borders of British America.” 

“Good!” said Sam; “and this time we’re going to discover 
the young lady and Fayaway, or die in the attempt.” 

They again passed over the large Indian encampment 
which they had seen in the morning, but it was almost dusk 
before they found a suitable landing-place — a large pictur- 
esque canon in the yery heart of the mountains. Here the 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


185 


balloon was rapidly filled and in a brief time tbe aeronauts 
were once more sailing through the clouds. 


CHAPTER XXVIL 

THE MOONLIGHT VOYAGE. 

^‘We\e got enough gas to keep us in the air all night, if 
necessary, said the professor, refiectively; ‘‘and the moon 
rises at ten o^clock. Who knows but it may be best after 
all for the prosecution of our search. 

He began to peek around with his telescope, as was his 
wont, and presently pointed out a long, straight line 
running through the woodlands from west to east, which 
he announced to be the line of demarcation between British 
Columbia and the United State's. 

“Xow,^^ said he, “it is among those lofty mountains 
just to the west there that Rube Tenyck indicated as the 
secret fastnesses of Firefoot, the renegade/^ 

As the rising moon began to show her luminous face 
through the trees, a scene of wonderful beauty met the eyes 
of our friends. 

Beneath them slept the vast unbroken wilderness, melan- 
choly and awful in its sublime stillness, but touched and 
fused with ineffable beauty — river and lake, hill and dale, 
rolling prairie and hoary wood — by the magic of the moon- 
light. 

The wind, though very light, was favorable, and the 
balloon drifted directly toward the mountains that lifted 
their dark and forbidding chain to the west, as if to shut 
out a realm of beauty from a benighted race. 

Presently they began to pass over the mountains, and 
all eyes were directed below, intent upon discovering the 
first signs of human habitations, however rude and savage. 
It seemed like a mockery to suppose that anything like a 
lodge or cabin should be found in such a solitude, but be- 
fore long. Big Horn, who possessed the keenest eyes in the 
partv, said ,in a low voice: ' 

“Thar you be, mates'/' and directed the attention of the 
others to a narrow plain, surrounded on every side by lofty 
mountain walls. 


186 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


A little rivulet flashed through the center, and on its 
hanks they could discern two or three Indian lodges, the 
moonlight making every object stand out in distinct relief. 

Silently they settled down to within a short distance of 
the lodges, the wind dying away as they neared the surface, 
leaving them perfectly motionless. Some Indian dogs be- 
gan to bark, but they did not disturb the inmates of the 
lodges. Every one looked in vain for some indications of 
the presence of the renegade chief and the objects of their 
search. 

^^Sam/’ said the professor, ^flet us uncover that larger 
lodge, and see what we shall see. Get ready a grapnel. 

Our hero obeyed orders, and dropping a grapnel with his 
practiced hand, made it fast to the peak of the most con- 
spicuous wigwam, and then made a sign to his companion 
to draw gently upon the rope. 

The lodge, being composed entirely of dried skins, was 
very light, and they lifted it into the air without scarcely 
an effort. The moonlight flowed into the interior, and re- 
vealed the forms of four sleepers. One was a warrior, with 
his blanket wrapped around him, and his firelock still 
clutched in his hands. Near him, with her baby clasped to 
her breast, lay a good-looking squaw, and in a remote corner 
reclined the form of a young Indian girl, the first glimpse of 
whom caused our hero's heart to leap in his breast for he 
thought it might be none other than his beloved Fay a way. 

But it w’as not, though one fully as graceful and beauti- 
ful as she. It was the figure of a young squaw of about 
sixteen summers. The folds of the light, many-beaded 
covering that draped her form, rather exposed than con- 
cealed its graceful" proportions. A rarely wrought necklace 
of wampum twined her slended neck, and the broad, yel- 
low bracelets upon her wrists and arms betokened that she 
was of high rank in her tribe. 

^^That ’ere leetle slip of a squaw's good enough for the 
wife of any man, pard," said Big Horn, turning to Sam, 
with a softened look in the eyes, which was not often seen 
there. 

‘^Tt is evident," whispered the professor, "That neither of 
the captives weTe in search for is in this encampment. But, 
if we could only make that girl a captive, she might give 
us all the information we want.’' 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


187 


shall we slip down and murder the rest of ^em?” 
asked Big Horn, in his charmingly husiness-like way. 

^‘By no means. But can^t we do better said the old 
man. ‘‘They sleep so soundly that you or Sam might slip 
down there, adjust some grapnels to the little gabs blanket, 
and yank her up here into the car, without waking any one, 
not even herself. 

“Good!’^ said Big Horn. “Fll go.^^ 

Preparations for the abduction were soon completed. 
The lodge was set upon the ground to one side. Another 
rope was lowered, and Big Horn slowly descended hand over 
hand, and in a moment stood among the sleepers. Lightly 
he bent over the unconscious figure, adjusting the covering 
about her form and under her bead with so gentle a touch 
that she seemed only to move slightly in order to sink into 
yet profounder repose, and then signaled for the grapnels to 
be lowered. They let down two, and he made them fast, 
one at the head and the other at the foot. 

They raised hemp and placed her in the car, without dis- 
turbing her slumber. Big Horn followed. The lodge was 
replaced over the forms of the other sleepers, and the bal- 
loon slowly arose, with its added burden, into the starry 
air. 

Big Horn sat beside the sleeper, scarcely taking his eyes 
from the placid face. Even the great hound, Cliawer, 
crouched, at his feet, and looked at him with a sort of 
wonder at seeing him so employed. 

Presently the sleeper changed her attitude, and in doing 
so awoke. At first her dark eyes coming out slowly from 
their vailing lids, dwelt dreamily upon the objects around 
her, as we are often apt to do when arousing languidly from 
a delicious sleep. But when they at last rested upon the 
rough-bearded face of the hunter at her side, she started 
from the place where she was lying with a sharp cry of 
alarm. 

She had retired to her rest partially dressed, as is the 
custom of the Indians, and now, as the folds of the blanket 
fell away revealing her in the picturesque costume of an 
Indian princess of high rank, she looked even more beauti- 
ful than in sleep; but oh! how terror-stricken she was. She 
glanced from one to another of the party, then at the bal- 
loon overhead, and then ran to the side of the car. 


188 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


One glance over the side was sufficient. She uttered a 
piercing scream, and fainted away, 

^^Han’s off! I^’ll attend to this ^ere leetle gal,” said Big 
Horn, laying the lithe form gently down, and reaching for 
a canteen of water. ‘‘She^s only a bit skeered, an’ if she 
kin speak the Mandan lingo, as I reckon she kin from a word 
or two she screeched out, why I kin talk to her like a Dutch 
uncle.” 

The faint was over in a few minutes, and then before she 
could rise again. Big Horn began to pour into her ears a 
flood of explanations in the dialect he had mentioned. To 
his unspeakable delight she replied to him — shrinkingly, 
timidly at flrst, but with growing confidence and anima- 
tion as she began to comprehend the explanations of which 
he was most prodigal. 

This lasted twenty minutes or more, much to the vexation 
of the other members of the party. 

^ ‘Can’t she speak English at all?” Sam at last broke in, a 
little peevishly. 

Before Big Horn could reply, the Indian maiden said in 
broken English: 

“Me very much little speakie English to white chiefs.” 

“What is your name?” asked the professor. 

“My name? Name! what is name? Oh! Me called 
Mewanee.” 

“An’ a swate little name it is, if I say it myself,” com- 
mented McGuire. “It’s almost as swate as Bridget.” 

Big Horn, who had witnessed these efforts at conversation 
on the part of his companions with ill-concealed jealousy, 
now resumed his interview in the Mandan dialect, which 
lasted for some moments longer. 

“Mewanee says,” he at length interpreted, “that she is of 
the Mandan-Mandan tribe, and that from her infancy she 
has been a captive of the chief from whose lodge we carried 
her.” 

The great hunter of course translated after his own rude 
manner of speech, but for the convenience of the reader, 
we improve upon his explanation for this occasion at least. 

“Now that I’ve explained things to her,” he resumed, 
“she says that she’s very glad to get away, inasmuch as her 
master treated her harshly, and was even about to make her 
his wife in a few days, although he has already one wife — 
the squaw with the young one in her arms that we saw 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


189 


lying in the lodge by his side. She is willing to go with 
us, and accepts me, Big Horn, as her protector. 

As the great hunter concluded these remarks, in his own 
phraseology— which the reader need scarcely be informed 
was more characteristic than elegant, he smote his massive 
breast proudly with his right hand, and at the same time 
passed his left arm around the slender form of Mewanee, 
who fluttered up close to his shoulder in a simple, trusting 
manner. 

'‘Yes, yes; that is all very well,” said the professor im- 
patiently, '‘but we want to know whether she can give in- 
formation of the whereabouts of Firefoot and his captives.""^ 

In a little while Mewanee explained, through Big Horn, 
that she knew both Miss Chapman and Fayaway very well, 
but that they had been taken back into the mountains on the 
previous day by Firefoot, for whom she manifested the 
utmost fear. Firefoot had with him a body-guard of fifty 
picked warriors. She could not tell precisely where he had 
gone this time, but she knew all of his haunts, and would 
direct the balloonists to them, one by one. 

Upon being asked how the captives appeared to be treated, 
she answered very well, that Fayaway was not restrained in 
her liberty in the least, simply refusing to desert her mis- 
tress in her extremity, and that Miss Chapman’s captivity 
was by no means of a rigorous nature. 

"This is the first real clew we have had yet,’’ said the pro- 
fessor, rubbing his hands, "and the presence of Mewanee 
among us looks like a good omen. We are already nearing 
one of the valleys spoken of by Eube Tenyck as containing 
an encampment of Firefoot’s braves.” 

The balloon passed on, with the professor and Eocky 
Mountain Sam on the keen lookout, examining the under- 
lying country which lay spread out like a map in the brilliant 
moonshine, and with Big Horn and Mewanee seated apart, 
conversing in low tones, in her tribal language, which he 
was so fortunate to understand. 

Presently the professor announced that they were ap- 
proaching the vicinity of an Indian encampment. In a few 
moments they were hovering lightly over a deep valley — set 
so greenly and deeply down among the surrounding peaks 
and ridges as to appear almost like a well, or the bottom of 
an extinct volcanic crater, in the center of which they could 


190 


ROOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


see a little lake sparkling,, with, a number of lodges upon its 
bank. 

As they went lower down, they saw that the lodges — there 
were some twenty in all — though small and light, were 
better built than usual, as if for a more permanent residence, 
while among them was a large, low edifice, built substan- 
tially of logs. 

"‘This looks rather hopeful, Sam,^^ said the professor, as 
by a cautious turn of the fan-wheel he brought the air-ship 
to a pause within about a hundred feet of the surface of the 
lake. 

""Yes,^^ replied our hero, "T shouldnT w^onder if we're on 
the right trail at last.’’^ 

Here Mewanee said something in a low voice to Big Horn 
who translated her words to his companions as saying that 
this was the chief mountain fastness of Firefoot, and that 
there were other Indian lodges in among the gorges, which 
they were unable to see from their position. 

“Ask her whether that big lodge is occupied by Firefoot, 
and if she thinks the captives are in there, said Max. 

This question Mewanee was unable to answer, and Rocky 
Mountain Sam said: 

“Bring the gas-bag a little lower down, and I will go and 
see for myself. Fll take Chawer with me for luck.'’^ 

Everything was so still and quiet that there seemed no 
need of descending by means of a rope this time, so an 
anchor was silently dropped and the car brought almost to 
the surface of the ground. 

Sam leaped lightly out, and the dog at a motion of the 
hand, followed him. So thorough was the training of the 
animal that notwithstanding his savage instincts, the merest 
sign was sufficient to make him silent and cautious. 

Sam slipped across the moonlighted space like a shadow, 
and was about to raise the deerskin that covered the en- 
trance of The larger lodge, when a huge^ gaunt cur — prob- 
ably the only brute of the kind belonging to the village — 
sprang from behind one of the minor lodges, with an angry 
growl, full at his throat. 

Taken completely by surprise, our hero stumbled back, 
and would probably have been borne to the ground but for 
Chawer, the faithful blood-hound. 

Without uttering a single sound, he pinned his snarling 
antagonist to the ground j there were a few feeble kicks, and 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


191 


then all was over. Still without making a sound, he rose 
from his prostrate foe, and stood wagging his tail, as if 
waiting philosophically for anything that might next turn 
up. 

Sam merely patted him approvingly upon the head, and 
then motioning the dog to remain without, raised the deer- 
skin covering and entered the lodge. 

All was silent for some seconds, and then arose a great 
hubbub inside of the lodge — oaths, curses, and gutteral cries, 
mingled with screams of women. 

The next instant our hero emerged, half-bearing, half- 
dragging the form of ' the Indian maiden, Fayaway, and 
followed by four Indians, who appeared to be but half 
awake, but who still stumbled after him knife in hand. 

Chawer brought one of these to the ground at a single 
bound, a shot from the car dropped another in his tracks, 
and the remaining two halted hesitatingly at the door, while 
the inmates of the other lodges, were at once aroused, and 
began to issue forth, raising their war-cries as they came. 

“Tear down the lodge yelled Sam; “the young lady’s 
inside.” 

He reached the car with the girl in his arms, but here 
Fayaway indicated that she would not desert her mistress, 
and after clinging to him with a loving kiss, resolutely tore 
herself from his embrace. As she did so she caught a 
glimpse of the comely face and form of Mawanee leaning 
over the side of the car. A jealous spasm passed over her 
face, and with one glance at her lover of mingled wrath and 
reproach, she darted back into the lodge. 

The Indians began to surround the car from every side, 
not only from the few lodges that had been noted, but from 
the mouths of several deep gorges that seemed the canon’s 
walls. Sam had just time to leap reluctantly into the car, 
w'hen they were beset on every side. 

It was evident that the savages could be kept at bay but 
for a moment. Indeed, notwithstanding the numbers that 
fell beneath the revolvers and breech-loaders, they kept 
pressing in closer every instant, and already the aeronauts 
found themselves hand-to-hand, when Big Horn, who had 
hastily armed himself after the manner of the “period,” and 
was bristling with knives from head to foot — sprang upon 
the edge of the car. 


192 BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

''Hold the keer at all odds, mates, while I go fur the gal!'^ 
he yelled. 

The next instant he was in the midst of the dusky com- 
batants, butting, hewing, slashing, and kicking his \\^ay 
toward the lodge, the Indians going down before him like 
ripe grain before the reaper's scythe. 

At length thesavages, terrified at Big Horn's mode of -con- 
flict, gave way to his passage on either side. Only one 
gigantic warrior essayed one final attempt to bar his way to 
the door of the lodge, and sprang before him with uplifted 
tomahawk. 

The great chieftain evaded its stroke by a lightning-like 
movement to one side, and then rushing forward with head 
lowered, after the manner of an infuriated bull, he drove 
the spike with which his cap was crowned, directly through 
the stomach of his foe, pinning him to the door-post, in 
which position he squirmed around like a tomato-worm on 
a bodkin, until upon being released he fell upon the ground 
in the death-agonies. 

The next instant Big Horn had entered the lodge, and 
from the savage uproar that followed his entrance, his com- 
rades were enabled to conjecture that the captives were sur- 
rounded by a strong and determined guard. But they had 
little time to think of his individual fortunes, since his dis- 
appearance was a signal for a simultaneous assault upon the 
car by all the Indians, to the number of fifty or sixty. 

The balloonists fought like demons; for now it would not 
do to rise out of reach of the foe, as that would be a deser- 
tion of Big Horn. While Mewanee, completely terror- 
stricken, crouched at the bottom of the car, to be as much 
out of danger as possible, Sam, Teddy, and the brave old 
professor, armed with pistols, knives, hatchets, and crow- 
bars, fought back the dusky swarm with grim determina- 
tion, while the redoubtable Chawer, who had followed Sam 
in his retreat, kept furiously at work, tooth and nail, as 
many a bleeding and lacerated redskin could attest. But 
human and canine nature combined could not long hold out 
against such odds. At length there was but one thing to 
do — to cut loose. 

"Cut the anchor-line, Teddy, and chuck over some bal- 
last!" yelled Max. "Quick! or we'll all be massacred!" 

"What! and leave Big Horn to his fate? Never!" cried 
Sam, at the same time plunging his knife into an Indian's 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 193 

breast, and sending anotlier to kingdom come by a well- 
directed shot. 

‘"Do yon think I mean to desert the man? We will 
only rise about fifty feet or so, for breathing space. 

The anchor- line was cut as directed, and the balloon 
tugged, strained, and soared aloft. The car tore itself loose 
from the dusky hands that would have held it down, 
those that still clung tenaciously being lopped off at the 
edge, .like raw joints upon the butchery’s block. 

“TheyT'e surrounded the lodge, exclaimed the professor, 
gazing below, ^‘^and Big Horn is still - fighting desperately 
within, for I can still hear his great voice. We must save 
him, or die in the attempt. Come, my lads, there is yet 
work to do. Teddy, give that fan-wheel a turn or two; 
and, Sam, get ready a running line to drag him out of their 
clutches, y” 

They moved mechanicillly to obey his orders, and grad- 
ually brightened and heartened to their work, as half ex- 
hausted men of indomitable courage will do at the last mo- 
ment.* 

Suddenly the professor drew back with a start, and ex- 
claimed: 

^ ‘Great Heaven! the lodge is on fireP’ 


CHAPTER XXVIIL 

BAFFLED AGAIN. 

The outside of the lodge was already growing lurid with 
internal conflagration, ye^ still the hoarse voices of men in 
conflict issued from within, while the dark forms of the 
warriors could be seen dancing around it in horrid glee. 

“Lower the grapnels and tear away the roofry* cried the 
professor. “The captives are within. There are other 
lives besides Big Horn’s to be saved. ’y’ 

In the terrible emergency, Sam and McGuire forgot their 
wounds and weariness as if by magic. The balloon was 
now stationary, about thirty feet from the ground. Each 
of the men b%an to cast out the givapnels and to tear away 
the light materials of the lodge roof, piece by piece. 

The actual flames were as yet invisible, but they had 


194 


ROCKY Mountain sam. 


already torn a large aperture in the roof to enable them to 
see the forms of the combatants by the lurid glare, and tp 
distinguish Big Horn prancing and striking out among his 
enemies with apparently- undiminished vigor, when a door 
at the back of the lodge, which they had not seen before, was 
burst open, and Firefoot, hearing the half-fainting form of 
the Prairie Blossom and followed by Fayaway and several 
chieftains, rushed out into the open air, where for a few mo- 
ments they all paused as if overcome by sheer exhaustion. 

At the same instant, Eocky Mountain • Sam lowered a 
strong rope with a ‘loop at the end into the burning lodge 
and sung out at the top of his lungs: 

^'Put that under your arms, pard, quickePn ! 

The jig’s up for the present.” 

Big Horn, who was probably so near exhausted as to com- 
ply with his advice without reluctance, did as he was bid 
with some difficulty, and, by the combined exertions of his 
comrades, was drawn up out of the environing flames, and 
into the car, but not before he had administered a few 
parting kicks among his foes with his bladed feet. 

As soon as he was assisted over the side he sank into the 
bottom of the car completely exhausted for the time being, 
the blood-hound licking up the blood with which his cloth- 
ing was drenched, and Mewanee hastening to remove his 
heavy fighting-cap and to bathe his brow with some water, 
which fortunately chanced to be near at hand. The tired 
warrior opened his heavy eyes, and they rested tenderly 
upon the gentle form of the maiden — if such a nature as his 
could be aware of tenderness. 

But now the voice of the old professor called the rest of 
the party, at least, to action. 

"Alake ready a lariat, Sam,” he said, ^^Firefoot is 
preparing to run his captives off into the gorge. We may 
get a chance to switch up Miss Mollie out of his reach.” 

Eocky Mountain Sam watched his opportunity, and by a 
dextrous cast of the lariat which he had prepared, dropped 
the noose directly over Miss Mollie^s shoulder. 

^'Tuck it under your arms, affi donT be afraid. Miss 
Mollie,” he cried out. 

She obeyed him with the rapidity of thought, and, before 
the captors by whom she was surrounded, could recover 
from their astonishment, she was spirited up into the air, 
and over the surface of the lake far above their heads. 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


195 


Fayaway uttered a scream of delight, and clapped her 
little hands, and the Indians gave a yell of rage. The 
renegade made no outcry, but stood irresolute fora moment, 
as !f paralyzed by the sudden cou]) which bade fair to baffle 
all his schemes in an instant. Then as those above were 
rapidly drawing Miss Mollie up toward the car, and as Sam 
was continuing to call out to her not to be frightened, 
Firefoot drew his revolver from his belt, and leveled it with 
bent brows and steady hand. 

^‘What! would you shoot her, ye blatherin' coward?’^ 
cried out McGuire, indignantly. 

But the real intention of the renegade was soon apparent. 
CracK ! went his pistol, the tightened line was severed by 
the bullet midway between the car and its swaying burden, 
and Miss Mollie wdth a piercing shriek, fell into the lake. 

‘^Sheffl be drowned, sure! Oh, the blackguard T"’ groaned 
McGuire. 

■Big Horn had staggered to his feet, and was looking over 
the side of the car, as Sam cocked his revolver, and expres- 
sing his emotions merely by the gritting of his teeth, leveled 
it at the renegade with an aim that had seldom been known 
to err. But the great hunter placed his hand upon his 
wrist. 

*^Be you dog gone crazy, pard?^^ said he, sternly. ^'See, 
thar’s a couple on ^em in the \vater arter her already. Bad 
as Firefut is — an'’ I reckon thar^s wus’n even him — what 
would he the gaVs fate if left to the redshins alone'^. Put 
up your barker.’^ 

Sam returned his pistol to his belt with some reluctance, 
as though he could not see the force of his comrade’s rude 
reasoning. 

Three stalwart Indians had sprung into the lake at once, 
and, as the locality of the accident was but a few yards 
from shore. Miss Mollie was dragged out and landed high 
and dry almost before before she thoroughly realized the 
fact of her immersion. Fayaway was at her side in an in- 
stant, and it was evident that she had suffered nothing more 
than a severe fright.. 

Sam, undismayed by the failure of his first attempt, was 
rapidly preparing another lariat when the elements of nature, 
which had thus far, befriended the brave rescuers so 
steadily, proved inauspicious. The moon, which, though 
low down in the west, had thus far vouchsafed them her 


196 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


uninterrupted light, was suddenly obscured by drifting 
clouds, and when she again illuminated the scene, Firefoot 
and his party were seen just disappearing into one of the 
gorges. 

“IFs too had!’^ groaned the professor. ^^To have the ob- 
ject of our search almost within our grasp, and then to lose 
her this way, drat it! It’s powerful hard luck; but there’s 
no help for it. Our gas is nearly exhausted, and we must 
be mighty spry in looking out for another canon, where a 
supply can be had.” 

As the balloon rode gradually out of the canon into the 
open air, the first signs of the coming dawn began to streak 
the sky above the eastern peaks. 

By the time it was broad daylight, they were so fortunate 
as to find out one of the best canons for their peculiar pur- 
pose that had yet been discovered. It was rather shallow, 
and broad and fertile, with innumerable, columns of gas 
issuing from one corner, while the surface of the remainder 
was delightfully turfed and, wooded, with a stream of pure 
water dashing through its verdant bosom. 

Upon landing, they first occupied themselves with clean- 
ing their clothes from the bloody marks of the recent en- 
counter and bathing in the clear stream; Mewanee retiring 
some distance into a cottonwood grove, where she busied 
herself in erecting a little leafy lodge for her individual shel- 
ter while the party should remain in camp. 

It was found that, though none of the party had come 
forth unscathed, all of the wounds that had been received 
were of a superficial character, which time would heal with 
bnt little aid; Big Horn’s were the most severe, hut after 
his bath in the stream, beseemed to think no more of them, 
and chatted away with Mewanee in her tribal dialect, as if 
he were really building for himself certain future castles 
in which Indian fighting and buffalo killing would play but 
a second part. 

The professor built a fire; Sam returned to camp, after 
an hour’s hunt, with the carcass of a fine young buck on 
his shoulders; and by high noon they had eaten and drank 
their fill, and were ready to enjoy a well-earned repose. 

It was agreed that they should defer any further voyaging 
until the following day when it was determined to set out 
in search of the renegade’s more remote fastness, of which 
Kube Tenyck had made mention, and which they hoped the 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


197 


experience of Mewanee would help them to find without 
great difficulty. 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE EIR THICKET. 

Our friends were considerably refreshed an hour after 
daybreak. Sam shot a fine young elk, which furnished a 
bountiful repast, after which the party entered the balloon 
which was headed toward a fir grove indicated by Mewanee 
as the locality of one of FirefooPs strongholds. 

The current proved favorable, and the deep valley in 
which the fir grove was situated, soon came in view. The 
balloon slowly descended, and was anchored at the edge of 
the grove. 

The valley was more like a hole in the wall than anything 
else, it was so thoroughly surrounded by towering cliffs of 
black and jagged rocks, and the Indian maiden had spoken 
very truly of the nature of the grove. The firs constituting 
it were of tolerably even height, and had interlaced their 
tops so densely and inextricably together, that at first glance, 
it seemed that it would be impossible for any one descend- 
ing from above, to pierce them. Indeed, if there was any 
encampment underneath, it could not be seen, so impene- 
trable was the gloomy shade, and not the slightest sound of 
life, not the uncurling of a smoke-wreath, not the barking 
of a dog to indicate there was any habitation underneath; 
the entire grove covering an irregular space of about fifty 
acres. 

But Mewanee insisted that there were a number of lodges 
somewhere below, and offered to descend, enter the forest, 
discover its precise locality, and to come back to report the 
same. This proposition was at first warmly objected to by 
all, but perhaps for different reasons. Her huge lover did 
not wish her to incur any risk that might be much better 
incurred by experienced hunters like Rocky Mountain Sam 
or himself”; while the others secretly suspected that this 
might merely be a ruse by which the Indian maiden hoped 
to rejoin her people, in spite of her professions of preference 
for the society in which she then found herself. 

But at length the girFs earnest entreaties overcame their 
objections, and she was permitted to descend. 


198 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


The balloon was about thirty feet from the ground, but 
she went down the rope that was let down for her, hand over 
hand, with the agility of a squirrel. She looked like a very 
dryad of the woods as she stood for an instant at the foot 
of the rope, her light graceful form set off to its best advan- 
tage in its picturesque costume, and her young artless face 
upturned toward the down-looking gaze of her rude lover; 
and then she vanished like a sunbeam under the dense 
shadows of the wood. 

She was gone so long that Sam, Teddy, and the professor 
began to exchange significant glances; but Big Hornes faith 
in the fair absentee never for an instant wavered. 

She returned presently with a smile on her face. She 
made an eager, happy sign with her little hand, and then 
ran up the rope almost as nimbly as she had descended it. 

She had discovered the lodges, and was prepared to guide 
the balloon to a spot directly over them, and explained the 
length of time she had been gone by saying that she had 
hung around the camp in hopes of obtaining an interview 
with Fayaway, in which she at last succeeded, finding her 
alone at a little spring of water in the wood, at some lit- 
tle distance from the camp. Her first attempts to draw her 
into conversation were decided failures, on account of the 
mad and unreasoning jealousy of Fayaway, who persisted 
that in her, Mewanee, Rocky Mountain Sam had found a 
new flame; but when at length the real state of the case was 
forced upon her — that Mewanee was the prize, not of Sam, 
but of Big Horn — she all at once became serene, and the In- 
dian maidens, though of different tribes, had kissed and 
hugged as sisters. 

Fayaway said that her mistress would be overjoyed and 
filled with new hope to again learn of the near presence of 
her friends. Fayaway was certain that, could the balloon 
be anchored directly over the village, and a passage forced 
through the tree-tops, there would be but little difficulty in 
effecting the release of the captives, inasmuch as Firefoot 
and all his followers were so confident of the security of their 
present retreat, that they passed most of the time in sleep 
and rest, while the prisoners w’ere but slightly guarded by 
the squaws, who were quite as sleepy and lazy as their lords. 

"‘Thar! what d'ye think of that ’ere?’' triumphantly 
roared Big Horn, when he had finished translating, bit by 
bit, as it was given him, this truly valuable bit of informa- 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


199 


tion. she a brick?” And with that, for the first 

time, he folded Mewanee in his mighty arms and adminis- 
tered upon her lips a sounding kiss. 

‘‘Mewanee has indeed proved herself not only faithful to 
the core, but a most valuable ally,'’^ said the professor. “It 
now remains to be seen whether she can direct us to the spot 
directly over the village. Teddy, my man cast off the 
anchor.^'’ 

This was accordingly done, and in a few moments the 
air ship was softly fioating over the forest, the car almost 
brushing the pointed tops of the firs. 

Mewanee looked over the side hesitatingly, but at length 
assigned a spot as being the right one or very nearly so, and 
the balloon was accordingly anchored there. 

It was decided that Big Horn should make the descent, 
as being the one whose great strength would enable him 
most successfully to force and cut his way through the 
green fioor of boughs and foliage. 

His preparations were very simple, and very soon com- 
plete. 

Masking his face wdth a stout strip of cloth to protect it 
from the sharp-pointed fir boughs, with apertures for his 
eyes to look through, and filling his belt with his stoutest 
hunting-knives — the use of a hatchet being impracticable 
on account of the noise — he tied a strong line connected 
with the car, about his waist, provided himself with anothor 
line with which to communicate with the ground when he 
should have made his way to the lower limbs, and then let 
himself cautiously over the side of the car. 

Making a slight misstep at the start, he suddenly disap- 
peared with a plunge under the sea of foliage, but pres- 
ently they heard him stirring, just below the surface, and 
knew that he was among the hard boughs cutting his way 
down foot by foot. He soon found that the task he had 
laid out for himself was not so difficult as the foliage of the 
tree-tops had suggested, inasmuch as the boughs grew less 
closely together. Still he had work enough to do in cutting 
his way down. But the knife in his strong hand lopped 
off branch after branch as though they had been willow 
twigs, and he made the descent foot by foot. One of the 
principal inconveniences he had to deal with was the wild- 
cats which peopled the grove in prodigious numbers; but 
after stabbing several of them the others kept a little shy, 


200 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


tlioiigli making a most horrible din all around him. Once 
just before reaching the lowermost branches of the tree he 
was working upon, he encountered a worse customer than a 
catamount. An ominous growl, and the sudden gleaming 
of two terrible eyes in the foliage, apprised him of the pres- 
ence of a panther. He had just time to swing himself be- 
hind the trunk of the tree to avoid the animaUs spring, and 
the next instant, with a yell, its body was launched across 
the tangled intervening space. But before it could recover 
the hunter reached from behind the tree trunk and finished 
its career with one blow of his heavy knife just behind the 
shoulder. He secured the body among the branches — as 
indeed he had carefully shelved all the branches he had 
lopped off — inasmuch as its crashing fall to the ground 
would have been an intimation to the enemy of his opera- 
tions. 

So, working slowly and steadilv, surrounded by wild 
beasts, and most of the time enveloped in more that semi- 
gloom, the hardy hunter at last found himself among the 
very lowermost branches, and enabled to scan the ground 
below. He found that the shrewd Indian girPs judgment 
had been at fault a mere trifle, as he had come out a few 
yards from the lodges which he could plainly see, with 
now and then the form of an Indian squaw moving in and 
out. 

Now knowing how to communicate with the captives, he 
waited for a long time without getting any sign of them, 
and in the meantime having his other line ready, with 
a noose at the end to drop at the needed moment. ^ 

At length, to his great joy, he saw Fayaway pass out of 
the lodge nearest to him. He gave a long, low whistle, or 
cat-call, like the whistle of a bird. She paused, listened, 
and was then passing on, when the whistle was repeated 
again and again with such persistency as to attract her at- 
tention to the tree occupied by the hunter. 

Then when she saw the looped line dangling from some- 
where up in its dark recesses, she seemed to take in the 
meaning of the situation at a glance, and running under, 
looked up. 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


201 


CHAPTEE XXX. 

THE EESCUE. 

As soon as little Eayaway had got under the fir-trees, and 
locrked up, she saw the hand that held the loop-line and 
recognized it at once, for Big Horn was famous for having 
the largest and brawniest hands in the tefl’ritory. 

He spoke to her from above in a deep, hoarse whisper, 
saying: 

‘^‘Youwon^’t give yourself away now, like a fool, leetle gal, 
fur I know youYe a brick. Be keerful-like. Stroll inter 
the lodge, an'’ fetch out the young leddy jist as ef you was 
goin^ a blackberryin^, or suthin’ like that, an^ come hyar 
when you ain^’t peeked at. Phen, drop the noose over her 
shoulders. Shefil be drawed up first, an’ you arterward. 
Understan'’?’'’ 

She signified that she did, by a wave of the hand, and, as 
he drew up the line, he sHw her, obedient to his instructions, 
stroll off to the lodge in the most leisurely manner in the 
world. 

She entered it, and soon returned with Miss Chapman 
leaning upon her arm. Even at that distance the hunter 
could mark the flutter the latter was in, and the great 
efforts she made to conceal her perturbation. Two squaws 
came to the door of the lodge and narrowly watched their 
movements, but, as they presently seated themselves upon a 
mossy bank, and began to chat together, girl-like, as they 
arranged the long, curly mosses in each other^s hair, the 
watchers soon went in again. One of them looked out again, 
after a bit, but seeing them still in the same careless atti- 
tude upon the moss, retired, and the door was darkened no 
more. 

They then got up and strolled toward the tree, every now 
and then stopping to chat and laugh, or pick up some grass 
or flower before proceeding on their way. 

At last they were under the tree. 

^^Don’t look up,^^ was whispered from above. 

Down came the line. In an instant it was over Mollie’s 
shoulders and under her arms, and, almost before she could 


202 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


realize it, she found herself by the side of her rescuer, hid- 
den away among the boughs. He at once loosened the line 
and said: 

“^Climb up as far as you kin above my mug, miss,^^ and 
as she obeyed him, with quivering limbs, he dropped the 
line again. 

But, Just as Fay a way was about to appropriate it, another 
squaw, who had been wandering through the grove, ran up 
to her, seized her by the arm, and began to cackle like an 
old hen. 

But, with admirable pluck and coolness, the girl suddenly 
sprang upon her breast, bearing her to the ground, and be- 
fore she cuuld make an outcry, Fayaway drew a dagger from 
her breast and sheathed it in her heart. There v^as a slight, 
silent quivering of the form, and then all was silent. 

Springing to her feet, ahd flinging a glance around, the 
girl saw that no alarm had been given. The next insiant 
she had returned her poniard to its place of concealment, 
leaped into the noose, and was drawn into the tree. 

‘‘By crimminy! but youTe a brick, and I alters said it,^'’ 
said the hunter, gazing at her admiringly, as he loosened the 
noose and returned it to his belt, ^^^’ow, listen to me, leetle 
gal. They’re going to haul me up inter the gas-bag, an^ I 
must kerry up the young Jeddy with me. You kin foller 
well enough, fur Fve seen you climb like a squirrel.'’^ 

She nodded. 

“Wall, Just kerry that ere frog-sticker atwixt yer teeth 
fur to fight off the wild-cats, an’ doiiT be af eared. 

She nodded again. He gave the rope that connected him 
with the balloon a Jerk, and they immediately began to ma- 
terially aid his ascent by vigorous drawing. When he 
reached Miss Mollie’s position, ho took her in his arms — or, 
rather, she fell into them, for she was already in an almost 
fainting condition, and then the ascent was renewed, though, 
obviously, more laboriously than before, Fayaway clamber- 
ing nimbly at their heels. 

Perhaps for the reason that their augmented number ap- 
peared more formidable, or from some other cause, the wild- 
cats proved shyer than before, and, though keeping up an 
infernal squalling, made no direct attack. 

Just as they reached the topmost branches, a great tumult 
of whoops and shouts below apprised them that the escape 
had been discovered, most likely from the discovery of the 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


203 


squaw’s dead body, which the brave little Fayaway had left 
at the foot of the tree. 

‘^Let ’em squeel!” growled the hunter, with much satis- 
faction; ‘Sve’ve got two aces ahead, an’ kin go ’em jist one 
better. 

‘‘Now, leetle gal,” he added, turning to Fayaway, “they 
is goiii’ to draw up me an’ the young leddy through the 
leaves inter the gas-bag. You jist lay low an’ keep dark till 
I lower a line fur you. Understan’?” 

Fayaway nodded, her usual simple mode of assent. 

Big Horn jerked the rope hard, and the next moment he 
and his precious burden disappeared in the foliage over- 
head. 

The balloonists could not abstain from lifting up their 
voices in a great shout of exultation and joy, when Big Horn, 
laying his mighty hand upon the edge of the car, handed 
into it the fair burden upon his left arm and then sprang 
lightly into it himself. 

As soon as Mollie found herself safely in the car, sur- 
rounded by friendly and familiar faces — and even the dark 
features of Mewanee were fairly illuminated with womanly 
joy and sympathy — the revulsion was more than even she, 
with all her robustness, could bear, and she fainted away in 
the professor’s arms. 

“It’s the sort of swoon that never does much hurt,” said 
the old man, with the nearest approach to a tremor in his 
voice that either Sam or Teddy had ever noted before, and 
he forthwith handed her over to the tender ministrations of 
Mewanee. 

“Where’s Fayaway, pard?” was Sam’s first question. 

“Jist wait till I drop this line inter them ’ere leaves down 
thar, pard, an’ we’ll see if we don’t git a bite from that ere 
leetle fish you’re hankerin’ arter,” said Big Horn; and, 
unloosing the rope from his own shoulders, he dropped it 
into the green depths below. 

Pretty soon there was a gentle pull, and then a sharper 
one. 

“That’s it; fust a nibble and then a bite,” said the Hun- 
ter of the Period, pulling up the line, with a great grin 
upon his uncouth face. 

Faya way’s pretty head and shoulders first appeared above 
the green masses, like a mermaid’s above the sea, then her 
whole form, and then — she was sobbing and laughing upon 


204 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

her lover’s breast, and Sam was devouring her with kisses. 

The shouts and whoops of the savages, which had been 
heard for some time, now grew more distinct, and they were 
soon made aware tjiat some of them at least were climbing 
up through the firs by means of the path which had been 
hewn out by Big Horn in his decent. 

^ ‘We’ve no reason to be afraid of them,” said the pro- 
fessor, “but as we have accomplished the great object of our 
expedition, we might as well go at once. Sam, cast oif the 
anchor if you please, and Teddy, throw out some ballast, 
we’re sinking into the tree-tops with our augmented load.” 

Sam tripped the anchor, and Teddy, in throwing over the 
sand-bags took care to drop them into the precise spot at 
which Big Horn had descended, and afterward reappeared. 
A series of yells and savage imprecations soon told of the 
result. 

“Ah, bedad! but ye’ll be tired of tray-climbin’ be the 
toime I git troo wid ye,” cried the Irishman, heaving over 
bag after bag, which could be heard crashing down through 
the trees, followed by yells, with now and then a piercing 
scream, showdng that more than one tree-climber was being 
dashed from his perch to the ground. 

“Stop, stop!” almost screamed the professor. “You’ve 
got out too much already. Don’t you see that we’re rush- 
ing up, like a rocket. Sam, grab that valve-line. Holy 
Heaven! in five minutes we’ll be torn to pieces among these 
clitfs.” 

Sam grasped the throttle-valve, but it was too late. The 
next instant, and when the car was perhaps a hundred feet 
above the tree-tops, the air-ship scraped roughly against a 
projecting crag, and at last the netting caught securely, and 
held her there, while the cordage about the neck of the bal- 
loon also became entangled in some jutting protuberances 
of the cliff. Thus the balloon was fairly tied to the side of 
the precipice, and with no prospect of getting her off in a 
hurry, and even then not without serious, if not fatal 
damage. 

“Oh, you blundering, Hibernian villain!” groaned the 
professor, almost wringing his hands in the excess of his 
vexation and alarm. “What have you done? A capful of 
wind would now tear the bag to rags, and send us all into 
perdition.” 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


205 


^^Purfissor, ye towld me to hayve out the ballasht/^ mut- 
tered Teddy, shaking his head, doggedly. 

“He didn’t tell you to heave out all there was, you in- 
fernal ass!” cried Sam, who was no more in love with the 
prospect than was old Max. “Why didn’t you throw out 
the stove an’ the water-kegs, an’ the shootin’-irons, an’ every 
thing else?” 

Big Horn approached him with a heavy step and ominous 
mien. 

“Purfessor,” he said, in a hoarse side-whisper, “shall I 
bounce him?” 

And by a motion of his head and thumb together he in- 
dicated the realms of space on the outside of the car. 

Mr. McGuire was a brave fellow, but he fairly quailed 
and cowered under the weight of the concentrated oppro- 
brium which seemed suddenly to have gathered upon his 
luckless head. 

“Ho, no; don’t be foolish,” said the old man. “Let me 
just sit down a few moments and try to devise some way out 
of this; and don’t let the ladies know the extent of the 
danger.” 

“The redskins perceive our quandary,” said Sam, looking 
over the side. “They have cleared away the tree-tops where 
you went down. Big Horn, and there’s half a dozen of them 
up there looking at us. But of course we’re out of their 
reach, and they can do us no harm now.” 

“How could they!” said old Max. 

“Divil a bit,” said McGuire. 

Big Horn alone maintained an ominous silence. Presently 
he said in a low voice, so that only the men could hear him: 

“Thar’s only one way they could do us hurt, I hope as 
how they won’t think of that ere way.” 

“What do you mean?” whispered the professor, coming 
closer to him. 

“Wait an’ see,” was the curt reply. 

The professor looked up blankly at the face of the cliff, 
against which they were fastened. There seemed no way of 
getting free. A squirrel could not have climbed the face of 
the cliff, and the place in the side of the gas-bag where the 
netting had first caught was fully forty feet above their 
heads.' He was gloomily speculating, when suddenly he 
said, sniffing the air at the same time: 

“What is it in the air? It smells devilishly like smoke.” 


206 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


is smoke/’ said Big Horn. ^^TheyVe found out the 
only way they kin do us hurt, purfessor. They kin smoke 
us to death.” 

And then Teddy howled out at the top of his Celtic 
lungs: 

Howly blue blazes ! the blackguards have sit the forest 
on fire right ferninst our fate. They mane to smoke us to 
dith.” 

Mollie, who had long since recovered from her swoon, 
heard all, but said not a word. It was hard to bear — just 
upon the brink of recovered liberty to meet such a fate as 
this, but she did not quail for a moment. 

The four men looked hopelessly over the side of the car. 
Tongues of flame were beginning to dart from the tops of 
the firs immediately skirting the foot of the cliff* They 
looked down until the smoke, ascending in blinding volumes, 
compelled them to crouch inside of the car and shield their 
eyes. 

Denser and denser grew the smoke, accompanied by in- 
tense heat, until the narrow canon seemed changing into a 
furnace. A chorus of indescribable yells arose from below. 
They did not know, or did not care what they were at the 
time, but in reality they proceeded from the throats of in- 
numerable, wildcats being burned in their lairs. 

At length the smoke became so dense that they could not 
see each other — indeed, could not unvail their eyes experi- 
encing smarting pain in their eyeballs. Then they grad- 
ually began to experience difficulty in their breathing. 
Chawer, the hound, appeared to suffer more than his human 
companions, groaning constantly and moving around un- 
easily. The Indian girls began to weep and set up the 
weird, sad wail peculiar to savage people under visitation of 
death or deep disaster, and all of Mollie’s noble efforts were 
unavailing to soothe them. 

Suddenly the car was shaken violently, and the poisonous 
vapors were for a brief instant partially dissipated, giving 
them all a brief space of .indescribable relief. But the 
vapors quickly closed in and claimed their own again. 

‘^What was that, professor?” asked Rocky Mountain Sam, 
who had stolen to Fayaway and had his arm about her neck. 

^^A gust of wind,” replied the old man, with a peevish 

groan, 'Tt may take several of them, however, to tear a 


ROCKY MOUNTMN SAM. 


207 


hole in the balloon and bust her up. Drat the old bag! it^s 
rather hard on me after we\e stood by each other so long.^^ 

. But there came a dozen more of them in rapid succession, 
and still the air-ship was not torn to, pieces. 

Suddenly there came a very heavy gust that shook them 
up like so many herrings in a box, and when it had passed 
they all experienced a strange sensation — a sensation of 
rocking about easily and softly. What could it mean? 

The professor was the first to realize it, and springing to 
his feet, he fiutteredhis astrological cap in rapidly lightning 
smoke-wreaths. 

^‘Saved! saved!” he yelled, at the top of his voice. 
^‘Hooray! weTe free from the rock.” 

It was true. The wind, instead of destroying, had saved 
them. 

Big Horn sprang to his feet and threw out a bag of ballast 
weighing about a hundred pounds. The balloon seemed to 
spring upward half a mile at a single bound. The smoke 
had vanished, the pestiferous hole in which they had suffered, 
in which they had expected to die, was a dirty blot upon 
the earth far, far below — they sucked in the invigorating 
atmosphere in mighty draughts-— they were saved. 

Big Horn was the first to think of the women, and to 
turn to them. As he did so, he plucked off his hat in a 
sheepish, awkward way, and hung his head. As the others 
turned they also took off their hats and bowed their heads. 

Miss Chapman was kneeling in the center of the car with 
her hands and arms uplifted, with her face and eyes up- 
turned in mute thanksgiving, and with the tears streaming 
down her fair cheeks. Kneeling also, and clinging to her 
on either side, in a simple, passionate way, were the two 
Indian maidens. 

Just before them, stretched out at his great, gaunt length, 
lay the blood-hound — dead. 


CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE CLOUD^S SILVER LIJ^ING. 

The professor anxiously studied the country, oyer which 
they were passing, through his telescope, and soon discovered 
a familiar canon, where he decided to halt to make the 
necessary repairs to the balloon, Here also could be ob- 


208 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


tained the necessary supply of gas. They soon reached the 
spot, and the air-ship descended in safety. Temporary 
lodges were constructed for the ladies, as the repairs would 
detain the party at least three days. When this time had 
elapsed, the balloon was once more sound, and the professor 
decided to start at daybreak the next morning. The infla- 
tion was accomplislied without any trouble, and in the still, 
early morning the air-ship with its occupants arose grandly 
into the clouds, to the relief of every one. 

It was the intention, should the wind prove even partially 
favorable, to steer at once to the south-west, for Lieutenant 
Dutton’s camp, at the junction of Birch and the Marias 
Eivers. But ^^man proposes and God disposes.” They had 
hardly reached the altitude of the low-lying storm-clouds 
before a tempest burst upon them in all its fury, and they 
found themselves in the very teeth of a hurricane, against 
which the grinding power of the fan-wheel was worse than 
useless. 

At noon the storm had abated sufficiently to enable the 
occupants of the car to catch glimpses through the breaking 
clouds beneath them of the green earth, wet and shining 
after its bath of rain. 

The professor was the first to take cognizance of the actual 
position of the balloon. 

‘AVell, I swan to glory!” he exclaimed, looking down be- 
low, with his eye to his telescope. ‘^‘WeTe jist right plumb 
over Fort Benton. Teddy, my boy, jist jerk that throttle- 
valve line.” 

‘‘But Lieutenant Dutton is not at Fort Benton, nor my 
father,” said Miss Mollie, falteringly. 

“But you have plenty of lady friends there, if I remember 
rightly, my dear young lady,” was the old gentleman’s reply, 
as his subordinate obeyed his orders, and the balloon began 
swiftly to descend in Consequence. “They will soon replen- 
ish your wardrobe in a manner befitting the daughter of 
Colonel Chapman, of Chapman’s Ranch; and besides, will it 
not be best for you and your friends to remain there in 
comfort until we can send your father and the lieutenant 
to you ?” 

“I had not thought of that,” said Mollie, still not exactly 
falling in with the idea. “I — I think I would rather go 
and meet them at once.” 

“I am satisfied jou will agree with me as soon as you have 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


209 


landed/^ said the professor, kindly, but firmly. ^‘It is 
very likely moreover that we will have to engage in one 
more battle, in support of the troops against the Indians, 
and it would never do for you to be in the car at such a 
time.'’'’ 

Big Horn and Kocky Mountain Sam, notwithstanding 
their disinclination to separate from their lady-loves, joined 
their voices with the professor in setting forth this as the 
wisest course to be pursued, and Mollie at last permitted 
herself to be persuaded; Fayaway and Mewanee, of course, 
decided as she did. 

Tlie approach of the balloon to the earth had called 
forth nearly the entire garrison of the fort, the officers and 
their wives — there happened to be a good many ladies at 
the station at this time — coming out of the stockades, and 
mingling freely with the soldiers, hunters, and Indian 
hangers-on; and cheer after cheer greeted the aeronauts 
for some time before they reached the ground. But — it 
being generally understood what the main object of the bal- 
loon expedition had been — when the car grounded safely 
upon the green turf, and the quaint old professor handed 
out Miss Mollie Chapman — the captive restored, the Prairie 
Blossom, of whom the entire territory was proud — followed 
by the Indian maidens, the shouts that shook the welkin 
might have been heard for miles around. 

Mollie felt very much embarrassed on account of her 
shabby appearanee among others of her sex who were well 
and even elegantly dressed; but the ladies — many of whom 
were personal acquaintances who had enjoyed her hospi- 
tality at the ranch in less ‘^ffiistressfuF’ times — gathered 
around her with smiles and greetings, and bore her off 
to their quarters; at the same time taking care of Fayaway 
and Mewanee with almost equal consideration. 

Leaving his companions to entertain their many question- 
ers with an account of their exploits, old Max sought the 
headquarters of the commandant, to whom he related every- 
thing attending the rescue of Miss Chapman, and announced 
his intention of seeking Lieutenant Dutton and his com- 
mand on the following day; all of which the officer highly 
approved. 

‘'It is far better that the young lady and her compan- 
ions should remain here for the present where she can have 
every comfort/^ said he. ‘‘My wife will take her under her 


210 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


special protection. And when her father and lover — oh! 
I know all about Dutton, lucky dog that he is — come for 
her, they will find her looking the station she is born and 
bred to fid. In the meantime, I have received news from 
the force you left at Birch Kiver. The Indians had not 
made another combined attack, though one was expected 
at almost any hour; so that you may be just in time to 
take part iu it with that wonderful balloon of yours. 

As Max was on his way back to the balloon he encoun- 
tered Teddy McGuire in close conversation with Norah 
Kafierty, whose father was at work upon some lumber near 
at hand, and apparently by no means inclined to play the 
cruel arid implacable parent. 

Teddy, instead of being shamefaced at being detected in 
his love-making, sang out lustily for Max to come over and 
give him a character to his sweetheart^s father, which the 
professor did with more good nature than strict adherence 
to fact. Mr. Kafferty — who, in addition to running his lit- 
tle ranch near at hand, was something of a carpenter, and 
was often employed in this capacity about the fort — was 
very well satisfied with Teddy fora future son-in-law, as 
everything was harmonious in the way of nationality, and 
so forth, and to judge by the comely Norah’s blushing and 
downcast face, she was pretty much of the same way of 
thinking as her lover himself. 

^'What time will we be afther goin’ up in the gas-bag 
agin, purfissor?’^ asked Teddy. 

^Tn about two hours, was the reply. 

^‘Then ITlhave time to go to grub with Misther Rafferty, 
who’s been koind enough to be afther axin’ me.” 

^‘Yes,” said old Max, eyeing^him fixedly; ^^but be sure 
you do nothing to belie the good opinion I’ve given of you, 
my man.” 

‘^What do you mean?” 

“You know well enough,” said the professor, suppressing 
a sigh as he passed on; for he felt sure that McGuire would 
turn up the worse for strong drink. 

Rocky Mountain Sam and Big Horn being the heroes of 
the hour, had already been taken possession of by a^host 
of admirers, when the old aeronaut returned to ' the 
balloon, and were being feasted at a great rate by the 
soldiers and trappers on every hand. Liquor was also pass- 
ing freely, for the sutler’s office was near by; but Max 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


211 


noticed with great satisfaction, and scarcely less astonish- 
ment, that Big Horn steadily refused to drink anything, 
while Sam was so generally known as a teetotaler, that no 
one thought of pressing drink upon him, though many of 
their entertainers were already getting somewhat boisterous 
under its influence. 

^‘Well, if Big Horn is really in love with the little Man- 
dan maiden,” silently commented the old man to himself, 
^dove can work more wonders than I gave it credit for.” 

In two hours’ time they began to prepare for the ascent 
— it being the intention of Max to pass the night in a cer- 
tain gas-canon of the neighborhood, as a preliminary to an 
early start for the battle-fleld on the following morning — and 
Miss Mollie, with Mewanee and Fayaway, and surrounded 
by her new friends, who had already made up the deficiency 
in her raiment, came out to bid them good-by. 

Teddy also turned up at the proper time, cheerful and 
smiling, but, fora wonder, sober as an owl; which provoked 
another satisfactory mental comment upon the part of his 
superior. 

‘^All aboard!” sang out the professor, in his shrill voice. 
‘^Good-by, ail! Good-by, Miss Mollie! I predict that you 
will meet some very agreeable friends in the course of a few 
days. Teddy, you blundering gossoon! what are you 
dreaming about? Cast off that anchor!” 

So wafted upward by the shouts and huzzas of the whole 
garrison, the hardy balloonists once more soared into the 
realms of space. 


CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE LAST BATTLE. 

On the following morning, at the first streak of dawn, 
the aeronauts were again in the air, after having passed the 
night in a canon well suited to their purpose, where they 
had slept refreshingly, and obtained an excellent supply of 
gas. 

The wind was due south, and the balloon made such ex- 
cellent progress, that in two hours Lieutenant Hutton^s 
camp came in sight. Teddy was the first to observe it. 
^‘Be jabbers! there they are jist where we left them/’ he 


212 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


cried; ^^and howly smoke, look at the haythen redskins. 
The lieutenant’s besayged.” 

‘Tt certainly looks like it,” said old Max, bringing his 
glass to bear, while the others looked anxiously over. 
^‘There appears to have been a fight already — yesterday, 
perhaps — and now the brave fellows are preparing to hold 
their own at the fork of the streams, against enormous odds. 
Whv, there must be upward of two thousand Indians in 
all.” 

‘'‘We’ll be just in the nick of time,” said Big Horn, with 
a smile that looked grim enough, for he had donned his 
“Fighter-of-the-Period” costume, and was fairly bristling 
from head to foot. 

“There’s fully two thousand of them,” said Sam. “But 
our fellows have fortified themselves well there. If they’ve 
only got plenty to eat, they can hold out forever.” 

“I think they must have provisions,” said the professor, 
“for those little houses which they have built at the rear of 
their earthworks look as if intended as storehouses.” 

“Purfessor, jest let me have that ere squint glass a min- 
ute,” said Big Horn; and, it being handed to him, he di- 
rected it searchingly upon the hills below, which were 
crowded with Indians, some of them having built their 
camps thereon, while the majority of them were moving 
swiftly about on fact and horseback, as though preparing 
for another attack upon the devoted little band at the river 
forks. 

“Jist as I expected,” said the great hunter, passing back 
the glass after a prolonged gaze. 

“What is it?” 

“Firefoot’s afore us, as I said he’d be. Thar he is down 
thar on his big roan. That accounts, purfessor, fur so 
many redskins. He’s skinned the hull North fur recruits. 
Arter we lick them this time they’ll be done fur.” 

It was now evident that both the whites and the Indians 
had noticed the approaching balloon. The latter could be 
perceived running hither and thither in great excitement, 
while the welcoming cheer of the hunters and soldiers 
arose clearly and encouragingly upon the fresh morning 
air. 

When directly over the little camp, the throttle-valve was 
opened, and the balloon began to rapidly descend. Among 
those who crowded about the car as it neared the earth, 


BOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


213 


was old Colonel Chapman, as well as Lieutenant Dutton; 
and their countenances fell wonderfully when they perceived 
that the car only contained its original occupants. 

But, anchor being cast, the professor sprang out, and 
their disappointment was soon changed to rejoicing when, 
in brief words, he explained everything. The news of the 
rescue of Miss Mollie, upon being communicated to the 
men, was received wiih tremendous cheering. 

^^We can now fight with an energy greater than we have 
yet displayed, cried the young lieutenant, grasping the 
old aeronaut^s hand, while the other balloonists sprang out 
to share in the general congratulations. 

^‘And there's no fear of the result now,^^ said Chapman. 
^^And, after the fight, then hey for Fort Benton.'^ 

^^How many men have you?^^ asked Sam. 

‘^One hundred and ten, including those the colonel 
brought from the ranch shortly after you parted from us,^^ 
replied Dutton. ‘‘They attacked ns nearly all day yester- 
day, without making any serious impression on our works. 
But you are just in time as we are about out of provisions. 
See, they are about to resume the attack. Good Heaven! 
just look at the Indians,'’^ he added, as the savages began 
to descend the slopes on the opposite side of the narrow 
stream in solid columns. 

“All aboard shouted the professor. “WeVe got some 
little arrangements now that will make them sick. Cast olf 
the anchor, f 

In a few minutes the balloon was once more afloat, and 
the occupants of the car began to open operations by rain- 
ing down stones upon the heads of the advancing foe, who 
were also encountered by well-directed volleys from the hun- 
ters and soldiers. 

But the renegade himself led the attack, and it soon 
became evident that the “Booglebooby” had lost the super- 
stitious terrors which had at one time invested it, whatever 
might be the physical fear in which it was still held by the 
savages. The latter maintained their ranks well, covering 
the entire side of the rugged slope, and advancing directly 
through the shallow waters of the stream so persistently 
that it was evident the white men would soon be over- 
powered, unless relieved by some unforeseen interference. 

“ArVt you goin' down among W?"’ demanded Big Horn, 
with an oath. 


214 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


Rigged up, as he was, in his favorite fighting costume, he 
was already impatient to participate in the fray. 

“Wait a bit,^^ said Max, coolly. 

The balloon was directly above the Indian center, and 
about two hundred feet high. The old man had in his 
hands a small, round can, on either end of which he was 
tying a heavy stone. 

“ What is that ere?’^ 

“Nitro-glycerine; just wait till I drop it, thus weighted, 
upon one of "those big rocks down there, and youTl see some 
fun. Look out now.” 

They all looked below as he leaned over the car, and, 
poising the can for an infant in his hand, suddenly let it 
fall. The Indians, seeing it coming, and doubtless deem- 
ing it but an ordinary missile, gave way to let it fall through 
their ranks, and it fairly struck a broad slab of rock with 
great force. 

The result was an explosion so terrible as to fairly appall 
even the mid-air voyagers themselves. For an instant the 
very air seemed stagnated by the sound; the balloon and 
car paused and shivered as if about to fall to pieces, and the 
occupants of the latter could see that even the majority of 
the men in the camp were momentarily prostrated by the 
explosion. 

But the scene on the crowded plain directly below, and 
for a hundred yards surrounding the spot where the can had 
burst, was indescribable. It was much as if a devastating 
earthquake had suddenly thrown the earth into fragments. 
The ground was strewn with dead and dying Indians, 
with men blasted and mangled out of all semblance to 
humanity, ponies mutilated into mere bleeding masses, and 
even Indians,otherwise unhurt, prostrated in every direction. 
Fully one-half of those remaining were fleeing panic-stricken 
up the slopes; while some of them, under the fearless lead 
of their fiery chieftain, still continued to ford the stream 
and press up toward the temporary breastworks, whence 
the hunters and soldiers, quickly recovering from the 
stunning effects of the explosion, and seeing the devasta- 
tion it had wrought upon the foe, continued to pour upon 
them volley after volley with their revolvers and breech- 
loaders. 

^‘Now we will go down among them. Big Horn,'^ said the 
professor, smiling blandly, and seizing the valve-line, 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


215 


^‘Sam, you and Teddy look well to the scythes, for before 
Big Horn jumps in among the redskins weTl just take a 
run or two through their ranks, beginning with those 
cowardly fellows at the top of the slope. Hold hard!” 

The flying Indians who were pressing in dense masses 
toward the summit of the slope, paused aghast as they were 
suddenly confronted by the many bladed car, and began to 
run in various directions, giving expression to their terror 
by wild and lamenting cries, in strange contrast with the 
flerce war-whoops to which their lips were mostly accus- 
tomed. But the next instant the car was upon them, 
sweeping and tearing through their solid ranks with tre- 
trernendous effect, while behind the terrible blades that 
lopped and cut them down like sheaves of grain at harvest 
time, the balloonists kept up an incessant and unerring Are 
with their revolvers. 

Down to the very margin of the river it hewed and reaped 
its way, then up the hill again as the wind changed, until 
the long scythes were red and dripping to their hafts, and 
the ground was literally packed with bleeding forms, and 
then back once more to the river'^s bank, the yet unstricken 
redskins flying before it and away from it like frightened 
sheep, flinging away their weapons and filling the air with 
their terrified yells, 

Here the balloon came to a temporary pause in its fell 
career, chiefly on account of the scythe-blades being so 
clotted with blood and fragments of flesh as to require some 
cleaning; and here Big Horn requested to be conveyed to 
the opposite side of the stream and ‘'tossed out,” to use his 
own expression. The renegade had succeeded in fording 
the Marias with four or five hundred braves, who, either 
desperate or regardless of the slaughter that had gone on 
in their rear, were already engaging the whites in a hand to 
hand fight over the low earthworks, 'which threatened to 
yield to the assault at any moment. 

“All right!” said the professor, as the balloon passed 
slowly over the stream. “And by the time you begin to get 
tired. Big Horn, I may come to your relief with another 
little tin-can, or with something equally effective.” 

A cheer arose from the men in the works, and the 
Indians assaulting them for a few moments reeled back as 
the great car swung in among them. 

Then Big Horn sprang out in tboir very midst— the bal- 


216 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


loon at the same time shooting np several hundred feet as 
Teddy threw out two or three heavy sacks of ballast — 
striking out with hands and elbows, and tossing up an 
Indian on his head much as an infuriated bull would an 
urchin upon his horns, the luckless warrior coming down 
upon the bladed head-piece to be ripped up from belly to 
ribs, like a porker in a slaughter-house. 

Down they went in every direction before his terrible ad- 
vance, warriors, otherwise tried and brave, giving away be- 
fore him like little children, and seeming incapable of offer- 
ing any stable resistance; while the fighters behind the 
earthworks renewed their volleys with deafening cheers. 

^ ‘Fools! cowards^'’ roared the renegade, bursting through 
the reeling ranks of his Indians upon his splendid roan. 
^Ts one man a match for hundreds? Make way, you ras- 
cals r 

He clapped the muzzle of his revolver almost against the 
head of Big Horn, and pulled the trigger. 

The weapon missed fire. The next instant, and in the 
twinkling of an eye, the splendid roan went tumbling upon 
his head, ripped up from head to fiank by a single sweep of 
one of the bladed moccasins, and his rider was locked in the 
hunter’s terrible embrace. 

Firefoot’s followers reeled back in blank dismay, exj^ect- 
ing the next moment to see their leader, literally cut to 
pieces. But to their astonishment, as well as that of their 
enemies. Big Horn spoke to his captive in a low voice which 
no one else could hear, and with scarcely an effort, tossed 
him far away, unhurt, into the very midst of his followers. 

A cry of indignation arose from the whites who had wit- 
nessed this remarkable scene, for the Indians instantly re- 
sumed their assault. But Big Horn paid no attention to 
them, but continued to hew and cut his way toward the 
works. At last he reached them, and by a fiying leap, 
landed in the midst of the defenders. 

He was at once surrounded by a hundred angry question- 
ers, but he waved them off with an oath. 

"‘If I fight fur you I claims the right to do as I please 
with prisoner,” he cried, hoarsely. 

""But, my dear fellow,” said the colonel, forgetting in the 
heat of the moment, the grave obligations he was under to 
the man he was speaking to, ""would not the capture or 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 217 

the death of Eobert Scarlet have ended this accursed Indian 
war at once and forever?'^ 

he in the fight now?^' cried Big Horn. ‘‘‘^Look aroim^ 
an' tell me if any on you sees him.'’^ 

They did so, and in very truth the renegade had van- 
ished from the scene; although his followers, probably un- 
aware of his desertion, were again pressing forward to 
storm the works under cover of a cloud of arrows and a 
rain of bullets as they came. 

^^Ho, you don't see him, aiT you wonT agin till I git 
ready to surrender him into your hands, continued Big 
Horn. ^^He s my prisoner on parole. Now, let’s go on 
with this ere scrimmage.^^ 

They soon had all they could do to repel the assault of 
the Indians, which was made with more vigor than any 
that had preceded it, and the redskins were furthermore 
encouraged — while their opponents were relatively dis- 
couraged — by perceiving that the panic-stricken hordes 
w’ere reforming on the bloody slope on the other side of the 
stream, preparatory to sustaining their brethren. 

^‘Why the duse doesnT the balloon do something?’’ ex- 
claimed Dutton, wearily staggering back from the front to 
lean for a moment upon his sword. 

The air-ship was poised almost motionless directly above 
the hill-tops on the opposite side, at an altitude of perhaps 
one thousand feet, and save that two figures — probably 
those of Sam and Teddy — could be seen leaning out and 
cleaning the scythes at the sides of the car, there were no 
preparations making in it toward the rendering of further 
assisUince. 

‘^Tie’ll chuck out another of them tin cans as bust up, 
maybe," said Big Horn, who was standing near him, also 
breathing hard after his great exertions. ‘^Tf he should, 
cap, jist take my advice, an’ as soon as your own men git over 
the stu linin’ effects, give the word fur a charge, bounce over 
these ere dirt-heaps, an’ let ’em have cold steel. My word 
for it, it’ll prove the winrl-up.” 

‘‘That is your advice?” 

“Sartain — an’ I’ll be thar, cap.” 

“Then I shall follow it. By Heaven!” added Dutton, 
with considerable excitement. “I believe the professor is 
about to drop another can now. See, he is leaning out 
with something in his hands. Down upon your faces, men. 


218 ^ KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 

and be ready to spring up and charge at the word! There 
it comes T’ 

Most of his men who understood the meaning of the warn- 
ing, obeyed him at once, much to the surprise of the Indians, 
who drew back, at a loss to comprehend the nature of such 
a maneuver. 

Certainly there was no time for them to take advantage of 
it, for only a second later the can of nitro-glycerine, whicli 
had been packed between two heavy stones as before, struck 
the eartli at a rocky point a little nearer the river, and one 
which was also crowded with the reformed ranks of the red 
men. 

The effect was even more terrible and disasti*ous than be- 
fore. 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 

The explosion seemed to tear and rend everything in its 
path. Not only were the Indians among whom it fell, scat- 
tered like chaff before the wind, and destroyed and mu- 
tilated in great numbers, but great rocks were split asunder, 
cottonwood trees torn from their roots like the merest 
reeds, and masses of water torn up from the bed of 
the stream to fall upon the general wreck in dazzling 
showers. 

The effect upon the Indians immediately engaged in as- 
saulting the works was almost as disastrous. Many of them 
were dashed into the river, there to drown before recover- 
ing from the stunning shock; others were sent hurtling 
through the air as though discharged from catapults; while 
all of the remainder were prostrated and overcome by fear 
quite as much as by anything else. 

The hunters and troops were soon upon their feet again, 
but little the worse for the shock, which had swept over 
their recumbent forms in an oppressive but not hurtful wave, 
and the next instant Dutton's clear voice gave the com- 
mand to charge. 

'‘Up and at them V’ he yelled. "DonT give them a chance 
to get on their feet again. 

Cooped, as they had been for so long, in their close quar- 
ters while compelled to act solely on the defensive^ they 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


219 


obeyed the order with a deafening cheer. The next mo- 
ment the majority were over the low intrenchments, and 
in among the half-dazed savages with bullet and steel; 
while about forty of the cavalrymen, a few moments later 
made their appearance in the saddle — the horses having 
been tethered out of reach of the effects of the explosion — 
and began to use their long sabers with telling effect. 

The Indians, in spite of their great numbers, were com- 
pletely cowed, and made but a feeble show of resistance; 
the sight of the ruin and panic which had overwhelmed 
their comrades on the other side of the river, contributing 
not a little to their demoralization. 

They were ridden, trampled, and cut down by the score, 
and the remainder forced in huddling crowds into the river, 
where, notwithstanding it was fordable, many of them 
were borne down and drowned. 

This was the final breaking np of the power of the red 
men, and one more can of nitro-glycerine completed the 
destruction of their force. Leaving more than half of their 
number dead and dying upon the field, and casting their 
weapons away, they fied in every direction, and the Black- 
feet war was virtually at an end. 

The fight had lasted about four hours. An hour or so 
after its conclusion, the victors had formed their camp upon 
a little green knoll about a mile farther up the stream, in 
order to get rid of the sight of the field which their prowess 
had rendered so ghastly. Soldiers and hunters were lying 
upon the grass in every attitude of exhaustion or extreme 
fatigue. 

The balloon was anchored near at hand, and the aero- 
nauts were gathered with Colonel Chapman and Lieutenant 
Dutton a little apart from the rest, when Big Horn, who 
had mysteriously disappeared at the close of the affair, came 
riding in on an excellent pony which he had made a prize 
of somewhere. He had discarded his ^^period” dress, and was 
now attired as usual; but his face was even sterner than 
his wont, and there was a peculiar calmness in his deep-set 
eyes which no one had ever noticed there before. 

“Gentlemen, said he bringing his steed to a rest beside 
the group, but speaking in such distinct and deliberate 
tones that he was heard by every one in the camp, “you was 
summut surprised at my line of action with Bob Scarlet, 
the renegade, durin^ the scrimmage as has jist dried up, 


220 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


an’ I come fur to make an explanation. You all know whar 
my cabin is on the lower side of Grizzly Bear Lake, among 
the foot-hills. Fm goin’ down thar now, to meet that man 
whose got an’ old-standin account to settle with me. If you 
send a detachment there to-morrow, Firefut’ll be guv up 
inter your hands, alive or ded; an’ I’ll jist mention as it 
ain’t my intention to kill him. Gentlemen, you’ve asked 
my advice afore, and never regretted having tuk it; as far 
as I know, suppose you take it now. This Injun war is 
over. To-morrow, after the purfessor has swelled up the 
gas-bag agin, the colonel an’ lieutenant here had better go 
with him to the fort to see the gals; the rest of you, as wants 
to, kin come down to my cabin, in the foot-hills,” 

He waved his hand, turned his pony’s head, and, without 
another word, rode swiftly away. 

‘'Big Horn’s a queer character,” commented Colonel 
Chapman; “but I think his parting advice was most excel- 
lent.” 

“So say I, and we’ll follow it,” said Dutton, whose heart 
was buoyant at the thought of meeting Mollie so soon. 

In the meantime Big Horn rode on. The day waned 
and the night came down, but he did not pause. Dawn 
was just breaking over the rugged foot-hills and the tower- 
ing peaks around him when he approached his rude cabin, 
which was set in a wild and lonely glen, at the edge of a 
little brook that dashed noiselessly through a ravine into the 
lake. 

He dismounted and entered the cabin. It had but a 
single apartment which already contained an occupant, who 
was reclining in one corner, but who at once arose, and ad- 
vanced to meet him as he entered. 

It was the renegade. 

The early morning’s ruddy light that fell upon his fea- 
tures showed him to have greatly altered. Ten years seemed 
to have been added to his life within as many hours, and 
his sunken eyes had a wild, restless glare, like that of one 
whose reason is tottering upon its throne. 

“I have kept my word, Big Horn, I am here,” said he, 
in a strangely wearied voice. 

“It is well; sit down,” said the hunter. 

As the other obeyed him, he took a seat himself, leaving 
the door of the cabin open so that the steadily increasing 
light of the morning flowed in upon them. A wonderful 


KOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


221 


change seemed to have invested Big Horn during that long 
and lonely ride. There was a quiet dignity about him 
which he had never displayed before, and his language was 
no longer uncouth, but respectable and well chosen. 

lie suddenly snatched off his cap, placed his rugged face 
close to the renegade’s and exclaimed in a low, deep voice: 

‘^Robert Scarlet, is it possible you don’t recognize me?” 

♦The other shook his head doubtingly. 

‘T know you as my enemy — as one whom I had great 
cause to fear,” was the reply. ^‘But that is all.” 

‘‘Have the scars of battle and the impress of a savage 
life, then, left no vestige of the once comely features of him 
whom you oncecalled^a friend in Montreal in the old days?” 
said Big Horn, bitterly. “Of him you so cruelly betrayed, 
whom you robbed of the only woman’s heart that ever 
throbbed in unison with his?” 

Scarlet turned deathly pale, and started back as if he had 
received a blow. 

“Great Heaven! Roger Blake! is it possible ?” he gasped, 
with a shudder. 

He sat back in his seat, completely overcome. Big Horn 
regarded him for some moments with a terrible smile; but 
hfs voice was not so harsh when he spoke again. 

“Robert Scarlet,” said he, “that’s over and done. Let 
by-gones be by-gones.” 

“You don’t mean to say that you forgive me?” said Scar- 
let, incredulously. 

“Be that as it may, I have long had in my mind the 
mode of punishing you; for, in spite of your falsenessto me, 
I have respected t^he devotion with which you have sought 
for your captive mother; and I’ve also had reason to 
believe that you’re not altogether sane; at least you were 
not wholly responsible for what you have done.” 

At the mention of his mother’s name, the renegade had 
dropped his face in his hands with a hollow groan. 

‘•Robert Scarlet,” went on the hunter, “years ago I res- 
cued your poor mother from the hands of the northern 
Blackfeet; she’s been in my keeping ever since — she is in 
my keeping now.” 

The ren^ade’s face was terrible to behold, as he sprang 
to his feet. 

“What!” he almost screamed. “You mean to say that 


222 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


you have known this for years, and yet kept the knowledge 
from me — her son?'’^ 

The hunter nodded his head and smiled, though there 
was nothing of vulgar exultation in his*. smile, 

‘•That was your punishment, Eobert Scarlet. 

The unhappy man staggered back, and again sank down. 
It was some minutes before he could speak; and when he did, 
his voice was hollow as if issuing from the tomb. ^ 

“Perchance it was but just,^^ said he. “But, oh, man, 
^manT’ he cried, stretching out his hands with trembling 
eagerness; “am I not to see her now? Will you not vouch- 
safe me one caress of my poor — poor mother ere I die?^' 
“Yes; it is for this that I have brought or sent you here. 
My vengeance is satisfied; I pity you. But Lsten. It is 
Uwseless to go into the details of my rescue of your hapless 
mother. But even at that time her mind was a wreck, and 
her captors would doubtless have soon put her out of the 
way as a useless incumbrance, had I not effected her release. 
As soon as I did so I bore her to a little cabin in the very 
heart of these hills — so lonely and remote that its existence 
is known to no other man, white or red, than myself. Here 
I placed her under the care of an old Shoshone squaw, who 
was indebted to me for her life, and who, strange to say of 
the Indian, was grateful. In the charge of that woman, 
and supplied with every comfort I have been able to provide 
for her^she did not need' many, poor thing — she has lived 
ever since, but in almost hopeless imbecility, almost un- 
conscious of her own existence. I tell you this in order to 
prepare you for the wreck you must encounter, Come!^^ 


CHAPTER XXXI Y. 

MOTHEE AKD SON. 

Big Horn strode out of the hut and the renegade fol- 
lowed with feeble, faltering steps, which apparently had no 
more vigor than those of a little child. 

The way was rugged and stony, and led into the very 
heart of the foot-hills, which grew more precipitous and 
difficult at every step. The sun rode high in the heavens 
before they came to a little glen, in the center of which, 
but almost hidden away by the trees surrounding it, was a 
diminutive cabin. 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 223 

Big Horn knocked at the door, and was presently ad- 
mitted by an old Indian woman, and was closely followed 
by Bob Scarlet. 

The cabin consisted of but one room, but many evidences 
of comfort marked the rude structure. 

Crouched upon a heap of deer-skins in the farthest cor- 
ner was an aged woman. She was comfortably and decently 
clothed. Her hair was very white, her features were 
wrinkled, but still showing vestiges of what had once been 
comely and bright; but the eyes were dull and soulless, 
and she rocked herself painfully to and fro, accompanying 
the movement by a crooning sort of lullaby, sad and dis- 
cordant to the ear. 

The renegade stood for a moment looking at her like one 
in a nightmare dream, his frame quivering violently, as 
though stricken by a sudden ague. He then tottered for- 
ward, and with a low, broken moan, sank upon his knees 
at her feet, taking the withered hands in his, and pressing 
them to his trembling lips. 

At a sign from the hunter the old squaw withdrew. 
Big Horn then also quitted the cabin, closed the door 
gently behind him, and then strode away. 

He remained in his own solitary cabin during the entire 
day. In the evening he came out, bathed in the brook, 
shot some game, which he cooked for his supper, and then 
retired to rest. 

He was up again at early dawn, and had barely dressed 
himself before he heard the approach of many men up the 
narrow glen, and went out to meet a score or more of hun- 
ters with Rocky Mountain Sam at their head. 

^AVell, pard,"^ said the latter, taking Big Horn by the 
hand, “^^veVe come for Firefoot.^^ 

^‘Yes; and we’ve brought a rope to hang him with,” put 
in one of the men, displaying with considerable exultation, 
a coil of rope at his saddle-bow; an exultation in which all 
of his comrades appeared to share. 

^‘Big Horn'll keep his word, mates,” said the great hunter, 
falling into his old mode of speech, and retaining but little 
of the comparative refinement and dignity that had invested 
his manner on the previous day. ^‘But you'll have to leave 
your brutes here an' f oiler me on foot.” 

They pushed on, and at last, after a vast amount of curs- 
ing having been bestowed upon the wretched route, reached 


224 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


the strange little cabin in the glen. The Indian woman was 
sitting upon the ground outside, rocking herself to and fro, 
and wailing in low, harsh tones. 

Big Horn spoke to her. But she did not answer him, so 
he went in advance of the others, opened the door, and 
looked in. 

He remained alone upon the threshold for a few seconds 
and then turned and beckoned. As many as were able 
crowded up to the narrow door-way, and looked in. 

A most painful spectacle awaited them; a sight, which, 
perhaps, touched the hearts of even those wild, rude men, a 
moment before bent upon vengeance and blood. 

Two forms were lying upon the floor, locked in each 
other^s arms, and it needed but a glance to see that they w^ere 
lifeless; the forms of mother and son. Had she recognized 
him before the end? Had shegladdeped his breaking heart 
with one glance to remind him of the mothers look of old 
— of the mother’s love and tenderness, for which he had 
sought so long? No one would ever know; there had passed 
away in ruins twm hapless lives — one of them, pure and un- 
fortunate, the other, blood-stained and bad — but they were 
joined together at the bitter end, and their bodies bore no 
mark of physical wound by bullet or knife. 

^AVell, mates, I’ve kept my word an’ thar’s your man,” 
said Big Horn, turning toward the hunters with grim com- 
placency. ‘^Don’t you want him?” 

They turned away with troubled looks. Some of them 
sat down on the stones and began to talk in low voices; 
two of them pretended to have found bear-tracks at the 
back of the house; and the fellow who carried the coil of 
rope entertained himself by tiring pebbles at a hedgehog. 

Big Horn also took a seat outside, and asked Sam the 
news from the camp. 

^‘Everything lovely, pard,” was the reply. The nolonel 
and lieutenant are in Fort Benton now — went by balloon 
you know — the soldiers are on their way there, and Ave’re to 
foller. The colonel says he’s goin’ to bring down the 
station-chaplain, an’ any else who’ll come, to the old ranch, 
an’ have three or four weddings on the same day. What 
do you say?” 

“In course, I ain’t got no objections, nor Mewanee, 
nuther, I reckon,” said Big Horn. “Meantime, let’s git to 


ROCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


225 


work an’ bury Bob Scarlet an^ his poor old mother. Seems 
to me they should be planted in one grave. 

So they buried the bodies of mother and son out there in 
the desolate glen, Sam saying all the prayers he could re- 
member over the remains, and the hunters standing by 
with uncovered heads. 


CHAPTER XXXV. 

CONCLUSION. 

A month has passed away. Peace has been formally 
made with the Indians, whose losses have been so great that 
there is little danger of their resuming the offensive for years 
to come. 

It is now the middle of June, and the wild and pictur- 
esque region in the vicinity of Chapman^s Ranch and Silver 
City never looked so lovely before. It is a day of festivity 
at the ranch. The house and corral are overflowing with 
hunters and trappers in their best attire. Here and there 
an officer's uniform glitters conspicuously among the motley 
groups, and more than one officer has brought his wife 
down with him from the fort, though they are mostly in- 
doors at the present time with the brides to be, for a num- 
ber of weddings are to constitute the principal feature of 
the festival. 

The old colonel is bustling about, superintending the 
preparations of his men for the entertainment of the guests, 
and looking more rubicund and jovial than ever. 

Lieutenant Dutton has just darted out of a grand canvas 
pavilion which has been erected on the margin of the river, 
to speak to him. Notwithstanding the praise he has 
merited and received during those dark days of battle, he 
has adhered to his early expressed determination to resign 
his commission in the army, and is now dressed in a 
civilian’s suit, but he is looking indescribably happy in spite 
of his paleness, and darts back to the pavilion as if his feet 
were winged. 

An ox is being roasted out upon the prairie, and around 
the roaring fire the hunters and trappers are making them- 
selves merry with a liberal allowance of spirits; and mov- 
ing among them is Big Horn, the redoubtable hunter of the 


226 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


period, who refuses to touch a drop, to the unmitigated 
astonishment of all who remember his love for the bottle. 

He has had his beard trimmed, is dressed in a brand-new 
suit of bright yellow buckskin, with a dozen squirrel- tails 
tossing, plume-like, from his picturesque cap, and is look- 
ing remarkably well. 

Kocky Mountain Sam has just stepped apart from a little 
group to greet his old ^'pard.’^ Our hero never looked to 
better advantage than now. His trim and well-fitting hunt- 
ing-suit of dark-green displays his active, well-proportioned, 
supple form in all its most graceful points, while his frank, 
smiling face and laughing blue ‘ eyes are excellent indica- 
tions of a gay and happy heart. 

At the rear part of the pavilion, a rude sort of an altar 
had been erected, which was draped with the American colors, 
and other flags were tastefully hung upon the canvas wall 
just behind it. 

Miss Mollie, who was attended by a single bridesmaid— 
the niece of the commandant of the fort, a young lady of 
about her own age — was sitting a little apart from the rest, 
and her handsome lover was seated by her side, looking su- 
premely happy. 

The costumes which had been contrived for Fayaway and 
Mewanee by the sympathizing ladies at the fort were very 
becoming, and at the same time preserved the picturesque 
characteristics of their native dress, in which of Course, 
beads, finely worked wampum, etc, formed prominent fea- 
tures. Big Horn was now sitting at Mewanee^s side, and 
Eocky Mountain Sam held Fayaway^s little hand in his. 
The latter had probably made up her mind to forego the 
presence of any members of her much vaunted blood-royal. 
At any rate there were no aboriginal princes to be seen, 
and she seemed to be very well contented, as every now and 
then she cast up a shy look at the frank, honest eyes that 
were gazing down on her. 

But the expectant bride who was got up at the most gor- 
geous disregard of expense was Miss Gertrude Yearning, 
Mollie^s elderly, but still comely, aunt. She had certainly 
never looked more grand and queenly than upon the 
present occasion. 

But who was to be the happy man, and why this morti- 
fying delay? The lady looked troubled, and frequently 
bit her pretty lip as she ^turned first ai\ impatient glance 


EOCKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


227 


at the door of the pavilion and then a look at the lady at 
her side, who was to enact for her the part of bridesmaid. 

The delay grew every moment more awkward, and 
seemed particularly annoying to jolly Teddy McGuire, who 
with blushing Norah Kafferty at his side, was impatient for the 
ceremony to begin. Sincere pity began to be excited for 
the unfortunate position in which Miss Yearning was placed 
— for in spite of her faults and absurdities, she was a gen- 
eral favorite; when the colonel, who stood at the entrance, 
shading his eyes with his hand as he gazed upward and' 
away, cried out, heartily: 

‘‘All right, here he comes 

Cheers were heard on the prairie outside, there was a 
general movement to the door of the tent, and Miss Ger- 
trude, with beaming eyes, swept through the crowd, at- 
tended by her friend. 

“Ah, how handsome he looks she murmured, looking 
out; “and how gladly the rough hunters greet him, dear 
fellow. 

The new arrival, which had been waited for so impa- 
tiently, was none other than Professor Max Airy, in his 
balloon. 

It would be supererogatory to our story, now so rapidly 
drawing to a close, to refer back to the brief, strange, and 
unlooked-for wooing which had transformed our eccentric 
old friend into a gay and festive bridegroom, or to cavil as 
to whether that wooing had been most upon his side or that 
of the lady. 

Let it suffice that he was indeed the happy man. A grati- 
fying transformation had taken place in his personal ' ap- 
pearance, as well as in the state of his heart. The ridicu- 
lous peaked cap and flowing white garments, which had 
once won the bearer the title of the White Hermit, had 
given place to a becoming and respectable, if well-worn, 
dress-suit of black — probably the hoarded relic of more 
civilized days ere the illusion of having crossed the 
icy barriers of the great Antarctic Ocean had arisen 
to muddle and bedim his intellect. His hatchety face 
was wrinkled with smiles as he stepped lightly from 
the car of his air-ship, in recognition of the congratulations 
that rained upon him, and with a quick, springing step, 
advanced to meet his bride, to offer excuses for his delay. 

Whatever the latter may have been they were deemed 


228 


KOOKY MOUNTAIN SAM. 


satisfactory in the supreme happiness of having him at last; 
and he led Miss Gertrude back to her throne and blandly 
awaited his ^‘turn^^ before the chaplain. 

‘‘Youll have to give up ballooning hereafter, old fellow!^’ 
said the colonel, good-humoredly. 

‘^Yes, sir,^^ replied the professor, philosophically, yet 
with something like a sigh; ‘^Gertrude and I will take a 
brief bridal flight in the air-ship, and after that I will con- 
tent myself with her charming society on one of her farms 
in Kentucky, and with mundane matters in general.” 

The five weddings came off, one after another, in rapid 
succession; and there were feasting and jollity for several 
days thereafter at Chapman’s Ranch. 

Of course the after lives of all the couples were happy — 
as is usually the case in the summing up of novels — but with 
them we have little to do. Suffice it to say that, shortly 
thereafter, the ^‘Booglebooby,” the terrible Wind-Specter of 
the Blackfeet was seen no more in Montana; and that is 

[the end.] 


^'THE STRUGGLE FOR MAVERICK,” by James 
Franklin Fitts, will be published in the next number 
(22) of The Sea and Shore Series. 


BEN NAMED; 

OK, 

THE CHILDEEN OF FATE. 


By SYLVANUS COBB, Jr. 


$treet& Smith’s Sea and Shore Series, No.8. 

I*x*±oo, 253 OoxxtiS. 


WHAT THE PRESS SAY OF IT. 

•‘Ben Haiiied” is an Oriental romance by Sylvanus Cobb, wbicb recalls 
the deliglitl'ul stories of the “Arabian Nights,” without their supernatural 
effects. Imleed, our old friend Haroun A1 Raschid figures proiniuently in 
this work, and is closely identified with the hero and heroine— the devoted 
Assad and the fair Morgiaua. It is a romance of pure love, with an in- 
genious and cleverly sustained plot. — Grand Ixajnds Democrat, Aug. .f. 

“Ben Hamed” is the title of an Oriental romance not unlike the stories of 
the “Arabian Nights.” It is a romance of pure love. A number of strong 
characters combine with the hero and heroine in the solution of an ingenious 
■plot. —Uarrishiirg Patriot, July 2a. 

Street & Smith of New York have published “Ben Hamed; or, The Chil 
dren of Fate,” by SylA'^anus Cobb, Jr., which is No. 8 of the Sea anl> Smoke 
Series. This book is an Oriental romance, which recalls the “Arabian 
Nights,” witliout their supernatural effects. The plot is ingenious and well 
sustained, and brings out a romance of pure love in a eharming manner.— 
— San Francisco Morning Gall, July 21. 

“Ben Hamed” is an Oriental romance by Sylvanus Cobb, Jr., published in 
paper by Street & Smith, New York city. It is clever in the way that all of 
Cobb’s stories are clover.— Didianapolis News, July 20. 

“Ben Hamed is a capital story, progressive in action, interesting from 
the opening line, and with a charming love romance, on which are strung 
many remarkable incidents. — Acton Star, July 21. 

A capital story of Eastern life, which must have been suggested liy a 
perusal of the “Arabian Nights,” is Sylvanus Cobb’s Oriental narrative of 
“Ben" Hamed; or. The Children of Fate.” It is admirably told, full of in- 
terest, a.n(i cannot fail to charm all who begin its perusal. — Jloufana 
Sun, Sept. 22. 

Street & Smith, of the New York Weekly, have published “Ben 
Hamed; or, The Children of Fate,” by Sylvanus Cobb. Jr. This is an 
Oriental romance, accentuated by a very strong and ingenious plot.— /S l 
Paul Pioneer Press, .July 21. 

Street & Smith, New York, publish in paper covers “Ben Hamed,” an 
Oriental romance, by Sylvanus Cobb, which recalls the delightful stories of 
the “Arabian Nights,” without their supernatural effects.” — Cincinnati 
Fnquirer. 

“Ben Hamed,” an Oriental romance, by Sylvanus Cobb, is published by 
Street & Smith, New York. It is one of Cobb’s characteristic romances, 
Haroun A1 Raschid being a prominent figure. There is nothing strained or 
unnatural in “Ben Hamed,” it recalling the stories of the “Arabian Nights,” 
without their supernatural otteotB.— Minneapolis Tmbiine, July 21, 


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DENMAN THOMPSON’S OLD HOMESTEAD. 

STREET & SMITH’S SELECT SERIES No. 23- 


JE^rice, S5 Cent«, 


Some Ooinions of the Press. 


** As the probabilities are remote of the play * The Old Homestead being 
Been anywhere but In large cities it is only fair that the story of the piece should 
be printed. Like most stories written from plays it contains a great deal which 
Is not said or done on the boards, yet it Is no more verbose than such a story 
should be, and It gives some good pictures of the scenes and people who for a 
year or more have been delighting thousands nightly. Uncle Josh, Aunt Tlldy, 
Old Cy Prime, Reuben, the mythical Bill Jones, the sheriff and all the other char- 
acters are here, beside some new ones. It Is to be hoped that the book will make 
a large sale, not only on Its merits, but that other play owners may feel encour- 
aged to let their works be read by the many thousands who cannot hope to see 
them on the stage.”— iV. Y. Herald, June 2d. 

“ Denman Tliompson’s ‘The Old Homestead’ Is a story’of clouds and sunshine 
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learning of the deplorable conduct of a wayward son; a story of country life, love 
and jealousy, without an Impure thought, and with the healthy flavor of the 
fields In every chapter. It is founded on Denman Thompson s drama of ‘The 
Old Homestead.’ "—N. Y. Pi'ess, May 26lh. 

“ Messrs. Street & Smith, publishers of the New YorJc Weefcly, have brought 
out In book-form the story of ‘ The Old Homestead,’ the play which, as produced 
by Mr. Denman Thompson, has met with such wondrous success. It will proba- 
bly have a great sale, thus justifying the foresight of the publishers In giving the 
drama this permanent fiction form.”— A. Y. Morning Journal, June 2d. 


“ The popularity of Denman Thompson’s play of *The Old Homestead’ has 
encouraged street & Smith, evidently with his permission, to publish a good-sized 
novel with the same title, set In the same scenes and including the same charac- 
ters and more too. The book is a fair match for the play in the simple good taste 
and real ability with which It is written. The publishers are Street & Smith, and 
they have gotten the volume up in cheap popular form.”— A. Y. Graphic, May 29. 

“Denman Thompson’s play, ‘The Old Homestead,’ is familiar, at least by rep 
utatlon, to every play-goer In^the country. Its truth to nature and Its simple 
pathos have been admirably preserved In this story, which Is founded upon it 
and follows its Incidents closely. The requirements of the stage make the action 
a little hurried at times, but the scenes described are brought before the mind’s 
eye with remarkable vividness, and the portrayal of life in the little New Eng- 
land town is almost perfect. Tliose who have never seen the play can get an 
excellent idea of wliat it Is like from the book. Both are free from sentimentaUt’' 
and sensation, and are remarkably healthy In tone.”— Alban?/ Express. 


“Denman Thompson’s ‘Old Homestead' has been put into story-form and \s Is- 
sued by Street & Smith. The story will somewhat explain to those who have not 
seen it the great popularity of the play.”— jB?'oofclyn Times, June 8th. 

£ “The fame of Denman Thompson’s play, ‘Old Homestead,’ is world-wide. 
Tens of thousands have enjoyed it, and frequently recall the pure, lively pleasure 
they took in its representation. This is the story told in narrative form as well 
as it was told on the stage, and will be a treat to all, whether they ha^’e seen the 
play or not.”— National Tribune, Washington, D. C. 


“Here we have the shaded lanes, the dusty roads, the hilly pastures, the 
peaked roofs, the school-house, and the familiar faces of dear old Swanzey, and 
the story which, dramatized, has packed the largest theater In New York, and 
has been a success everywhere because of its true and sympathetic touch es ol 
nature. All the incidents which have held audiences spell- bound are here re- 
corded— the accusation of robbery directed against the Innocent boy, his shame, 
and leaving home ; the dear old Aunt Tilda, who has been courted for thirty 
years by the mendacious Cy Prime, who has never had the courage to propose ; 
the fall of the country boy into the temptations of city life, and his recovery by 
the good Oldman who braves the metropolis to And him. The story embodies m 
that the play tells, and gfcll that it suggests as well.”— ATanso^ Citn jourruA 
MayiTth. ^ 


THE COUNTY FAIR. 


By NEIL BURGESS. 


Written from the celebrated play now 
running its second continuous season in 
New York, and booked to run a third sea- 
son in the same theater. 

The scenes are among the New Hamp- 
shire hills, and picture the bright side of 
country life. The story is full of amusing 
events and happy incidents, something 
after the style of our “Old Homestead,” 
which is having such an enormous sale. 

^^THE COUNTY FAIR’’ will be one 
of the great hits of the season, and should 
you fail to secure a copy you will miss a 
literary treat. It is a spirited romance of 
town and country, and a faithful repro- 
duction of the drama, with the same unique 
characters, the same graphic scenes, but 
with the narrative more artistically rounded, and completed than was 
possible in the brief limits of a dramatic representation. This touch- 
ing story effectively demonstrates that it is possible to produce a novel 
which is at once wholesome and interesting in every part, without the 
introduction of an impure thought or suggestion. Read the following 



OPINIONS OF THE PRESS: 

Mr. Neil Burgass has rewritten his play, “The Connty Fair,” in story form. It 
rounds out a narrative which is comparatively but sketched in the play. It only needs 
the first sentence to set going the memory and imagination of those who have seen the 
latter and whet the appetite for the rest of this lively conception of a live dramatist.— 
Brooklwi Daily Eagle. 

As “The County Fair” threatens to remain in New York for a long time the general 
public out of town may be glad to learn that the playwright has put the piece into print 
in the form of a story. A tale based upon a play may sometimes lack certain literary 
qualities, but it never is the sort of thing over which any one can fall asleep. For- 
tunately, “The County Fair” on the stage and in print is by the same author, so there 
can be no reason for fearing that the book misses any of the points of the drama which 
has been so successful— Y. Y. Herald. 

The idea of turning successful plays into novels seems to be getting popular. The 
latest book of this description is a story reproducing the action and incidents of Neil 
Burgess’ play, “The County Fair.” The tale, which is a romance based on scenes of 
home life and domestic joys and sorrows, follows closely the lines of the di’ama in 
story and ^lot.— Chicago Dauy News. 

Mr. Burgess’ amusing play, “The County Fair.” has been received wth such favor 
that he has worked it over and expanded it into a novel of more than 200 pages. It will 
be enjoyed even by those who have never heard the play and still more by those who 
haye.— Cincinnati Times-Star. 


This touching story effectively demonstrates that it is possible to produce a novel 
which is at once wholesome and interesting- in every part, without the introduction of 
an impure thought or suggestion.— A Ibany Press. 

Street & Smith have issued “The County Fair.” This is a faithful reproduction of 
the drama of that name and is an affecting and vivid story of domestic life, joy and 
sorrow, and rural scenes.— /San Francisco Call. 

This romance is written from the play of this name and is fuU of touching incidents. 
—Evansville Journal. 

It is founded on the popular play of the same name, in which Neil Burgess, who is 
also the author of the story, has achieved the dramatic success of the season.— FaW 
River Herald. 


Tlxo Ooixxx’ty T'a.lx’ is No. 33 of “The Select Series,” for 
Bale by all Newsdealers, or will bo sent, on receipt of price, 25 cents, to any 
addregi, postpaid, by SIBEET ^ SMITH, Publishers, 25-31 Bose st,, New York, 


THE SELECT SERIES. 

OP 

POPULAR AMERICAN COPYRIGHT STORIES. 

No. 47-SADIA THE ROSEBUD, by Julia Edwards 25 

No. 46— A MOMENT OF MADNESS, by Charles J. Bellamy 25 

No. 45-WEAKER THAN A WOMAN, by Charlotte M. Brame 25 

No. 44— A TRUE ARISTOCRAT, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon 25 

No. 43— TRIXY, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon 25 

No. 42— A DEBT OF VENGEANCE, by Mrs. E. Burke Collins 25 

No. 41— BEAUTIFUL RIENZI, by Annie Ashmore 25 

No. 40-AT A GIRL’S MERCY, by Jean Kate Ludlum 25 

No. 39-MAR.IORIK DEANE, by Bertha M. Clay 25 

No. 38— BEAUTIFUL BUT POOR, by Julia Edwards 25 

No. 87— IN LOVE’S CRUCIBLE, by Bertha M. Clay 25 

No. 36-THE GIPSY’S DAUGHTER, by Bertha M. Clay 25 

No. 35— CECILE’S MARRIAGE, by Lucy Randall Comfort 25 

No. 34— THE LITTLE WIDOW, by Julia Edwards 25 

No. 33— THE COUNTY FAIR, by Neil Burgess 25 

No. 32— LADY RYHOPE’S LOVER, by Emma Garrison Jones 25 

No. 31-MARRIED FOR GOLD, by Mrs. E. Burke Collins 25 

No. 30-PBETTIEST OF ALL, by Julia Edwards 25 

No. 29— THE HEIRESS OF EGREMONT, by Mrs. Harriet Lewis 25 

No. 28— A HEART’S IDOL, by Bertha M. Clay 25 

No. 27— WINIFRED, by Mary Kyle Dallas 25 

No. 26— FONTELROY, by Francis A. Durivage 25 

No. 25— THE KING’S TALISMAN, by Sylvanus Cobb, Jr ’ 25 

No. 24— THAT DOWDY, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon 25 

No. 23-DENMAN THOMPSON’S OLD HOMESTEAD 25 

No. 22— A HEART’S BITTERMESS, by Bertha M. Clay 25 

No. 21— THE LOST BRIDE, by Clara Augusta 25 

No. 20— INGOMAR, by Nathan D. Urner 25 

No. 19— A LATE REPENTANCE, by Mrs. Mary A. Denison " 25 

No. 18— ROSAMOND, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller 25 

No. 17— THE HOUSE OF SECRETS, by Mrs. Harriet Lewis ’ 25 

No. 16— SIBYL’S INFLUENCE, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon 25 

No. 15— THE VIRGINIA HEIRESS, by May Agnes Fleming 25 

No. 14-FLORENCE FALKLAND, by Burke Brentfwd 25 

No. 13 — THE BRIDE ELECT, by Annie Ashmore 25 

No. 12— THE PHANTOM WIFE, by Mrs. M. V. Victor ' . 25 

No. 11 — BADLY MATCHED, by Mrs. Helen Corwin Pierce 25 

No. 10— OCTAVIA’S PRIDE, by Charles T. Manners 25 

No. 9— THE WIDOAV’S WAGER, by Rose Ashleigh 25 

No. 8— WILL SHE WIN! by Emma Garrison Jones 25 

No. 7— GRATIA’S TRIALS, by Lucy Randall Comfort 25 

No. 6— A STORMY WEDDING, by Mrs. Mary E. Bryan ! ! . ! ! 25 

No. 5-BRUNETTE AND BLONDE, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller.... 25 

No. 4— BONNY JEAN, by Mrs. E. Burke Collins ......! 25 

No. 3— VELLA VERNELL ; or. An Amaxing Marriage, by Mrs. Sumner Hayden. 25 

No. 2— A WEDDED WIDOW, by T. W. Hanshew 25 

No. 1-THE SENATOR’S BRIDE, by Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller ! . 25 

These popular books are large type editions, well printed, well bound, and 
In handsome covers. For sale by all Booksellers and Newsdealers ; or sent 
postage free, on receipt of price, 25 cents each, by the publishers, ’ 

STREET & SMITH, 

, 25 to 31 Rose Street, New York. 


V. 0. Box 2734, 


The Nugget Library. 


ISSUED EVERY THURSDAY. PRICE, 5 GENTS EACH. 


No. 30— McGINTT’S DOUBLE, by Cornelius Shea, 

No. 29-SMART ALECK »WAY DOWN EAST, by Frank. 

No. 28-McGINTY’S CHRISTENING, by Cornelius Shea. 

No. 27— McGINTY’S BOARDING-HOUSE, by Cornelius Shea. 

No. 2G— HIS ROYAL NIBS, by John F. Cowan. 

No. 25— SMART ALECK IN BOSTON, by Frank. 

No. 24— BILLY MAYNE, THE SHARPER, by Walter Fenton. 

No. 23— McGINTY’S TWINS, by Cornelius Shea. 

No. 22— PHIL AND HIS TORPEDO BOAT, by Harry St. George. 

No. 21-McGINTY’S GAMBOLS, by Cornelius Shea. 

No. 20-THE MYSTERY AT RAHWAY, by Chester F. Baird. 

No. 19-STANLEY’S BOY COURIER, by The Old Showman. 

No. 18-DIAMOND DICK’S CLAIM, by W. B. Lawson. 

No. 17-DIAMOND DICK’S DEATH TRAIL, by W. B. Lawson. 

No. 16-DASHING DIAMOND DICK, by W. B. Lawson. 

No. 16-SMART ALECK ON HIS TRAVELS, by Frank. 

No. 14-SMART ALECK’S SUCCESS, bj Frank. 

No. 13-THE SEARCH FOR CAPTAIN kIDD, by Col Juan Lewis. 

No. 12-MECHINET, THE FRENCH DETECTIVE, by Francis A. Durivage. 

No. 11— BOSS OF LONG HORN CAMP; or, A Fortune for a Ransom, by A. 0. 
Monson. 

No. 10— BASE-BALL BOB ; or. The King of the Third Base, by Edward T. 
Taggard (Paul Pryor). 

No. 9-YOUNG SANTEE, THE BOOTBLACK PRINCE ; or. The Boy Wizard of 
the Bowery, by Raymond Clyde. 

No. 8— NED HAMILTON ; or. The Boys of Bassington School, byFletcher Cowan. 
No. 7— THE CRIMSON TRAIL ; or. On Custer’s Last War-Path, by Buffalo BilL 
No. 6— THE FLOATING ACADEMY ; or. The Terrible Secrets of Doctor Switchem’s 
School-Ship, by Dash Dale. t 

No. 6— NIMBLE NIP, THE CALL-BOY OP THE OLYMPIC THEATER, by Jolm 

A. Mack. 

No. 4— THE GAYEST BOY IN NEW YORK; or, Adventures by Gaslight, by 

Dash Kingston. 

No. 3— BOUNCER BROWN ; or. He Was Bound to Find His Father, by Com- 
modore Ah-Looic. 

No. 2— UNDER THE GULP ; or, The Strange Voyage of the Torpedo Boat, by 

Harry St. George. 

No. 1— SMART ALECK ; or, A Crank’s Legacy, by Frank. 


For sale by all Newsdealers, or will be sent to any address, poi4- 
paid, on receipt of price, S cents each, by the publishers, 

STREET & SMITH, 

P* 0. Box 2734. 25-31 Rose Street, New York. 


The Log Cabin Library. 


Issued Every Thursday. Price, 10 Cents EacL 


No. 53— COONSKIN, THE SCOUT, by Duke Cuyler. 

No. 52— RAZZLE-DAZZLE DICK, by Donald J. McKenzie. 

No. 51-JENNlE, THE TELEGRAPH OPERATOR, by R. M. Taylor, 

No. 50— PRANK AND JESSE JA5IES IN MEXICO, by \V. B. Lawsoa 
No. 49— THE YOUNGER BROTHER’S VOW, by Jack Sharp. 

No. 48— THE OCEAN DETECTIVE, by Richard J. Storms. 

No. 47— THE BLACK RIDERS OP SANTOS, by Eugene T. Sawyer. 

> 0 . 46— GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT, by Dan McGinty. 

No. 45— MOUNTAIN TOM, by Ned Buntline. 

No. 44— PIGTAIL DE3IONS, by Harry Temple. 

No. 43-RED RUBE BURROWS, by Edwin S. Deane. 

No. 42— THE HATPIELD-McCOY VENDETTA, b 5 ' W. B. Lawson. 

No. 41— THE STONY POINT TRAGEDY, by A. L. Fogg. 

No. 40-THE GREAT RIVER MYSTERY, by Bartley Campbell 
No. 39— BARNACLE BACKSTAY, by Ned Buntline. 

No. 38— ALP, THE CHICAGO SPORT, by Edward Minturn. 

No. 37— CY, THE RANGER, bv Joseph E. Badger, Jr. 

No. 36-HIS HIGHEST STAKE, by Edwin S. Deane. 

No. 35-BOB SINGLETON, by David Lowry. 

No. 34— KENTUCKY KATE, by Marline Manly. 

No. 33— THE ROAD AGENTS, by Leander P. Richardson. 

No. 32-RAMON ARANDA, THE CALIPORNIA DETECTIVE, by Eugene T 
Sawyer. 

No. 31-THE HUMAN VAMPIRE, by K. F. Hill. 

No. 30— SHADOWED AND TRAPPED; or, Harry the Sport, by Ned Buntline. 
No. 29-THE LIGHTS O’ GOTHAM, by Ralph Royal. 

No. 28-THE GREAT YACHT RACE, by Marline Manly. 

No. 27-JACK, THE PEEPER, by Harry Temple. 

No. 26-HUGO, THE FIGHTER, by William H. Bushnell. 

No. 25-DARROW, THE FLOATING DETECTIVE, by Ned Buntline. 

No. 24-THE SHANGHAIER OP GREENWICH STREET, by Henry Deerlng. 

No. 23-PHENOMENAL PAUL, THE WIZARD PITCHER OP THE LEAGUE, by 
John Warden. 

No. 22-OLD MAN HOWE, by Wm. O. Stoddard. 

No. 21— CATTLE KATE, by Lieutenant Carlton. 

No. 20-GUISEPPE, THE WEASEL, ])v Eugene T. Sawyer. 

No. 19-LOUISVILLE LUKE, THE JOCKEY WONDER, by Jack Howard. 

No. 18-THE OYSTER PIRATES, bv Eugene T. Sawyer. 

No. 17— SILVER MASK, by Delta Calaveras. 

No. 16-THE .TOHNSTOW?^ HERO, by Marline Manly. 

No. 15-THE GREAT CRONIN MYSTERY, by Mark Merrick, Esq. 

No. 14-DIAMOND DICK IN ARIZONA, by Delta Calaveras. 

No. 13-HABRY LOVELL, THE GENTLEMAN RIDER, by Sherwood Stanley. 
No. 12-THE MINER DETECTIVE, bv Ned Buntline. 

No. 11— THE OKLAHOMA DETECTIVE, by Old Broadbrim. 

No. 10-THE GOLD-HUNTER DETECTIVE, by Marline Manly. 

No. 9— THE IRISH JUDAS; or. The Great Conspiracy Against Parnell, by 
Clarence Clancool. 

No. 8— BILL TREDEGAR, A Tale of the Moonshiners, by Ned Buntlinec 
No. 7— THE PINERY DEN DETECTIVE, by Mark Merrick, Esq. 

No. 6-rCAPTAIN KATE, by Leander P. Richardson. 

No. 5-THE WHITE CAP DETECTIVE, by Marline Manly. 

No. 4— JESSE, THE OUTLAW, A Story of the James Boys, by Captain Juk^ 
Shackleford. 

No. 3-SEVEN PICKED MEN, by Judson R. Taylor. 

No. 2-THE KEWANEE BANK ROBBERY, by J. R, Muslck. 

No. 1-THE WHITE CAPS, by Marline Maiily. 


For sale by all Newsdealers, or will be sent to any address, post- 
paid, on receipt of price, 10 cents each, by 

Street & Smith, Publishers, 

P. O. BOX 2734. 25-3i ROSE STREET, NEW YORK 



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A LIST OF 



WHO HAVE 


Iv arried Foreidners of Rai^k. 

ILLUSTRATED WITH ARMORIAL BEARINGS. 


HTllKKT SMITH’S 

HAND-BOOK LIBRARY— NO. 3. 


lE^srioo SO Ooxxts. , 


Some Opinions of the Press: 

The title t)af,'e of this volume is not sntSciently Iouk, for besides all it promises it 
ne^leOts to aiiuouui'e that there is also a list of available noblemen who ha\e have iii t 
yet entered the state of mati-imony, and to wliom, presumably, American beauty backed 
by American y<dd may successfully appeal.— A’. F. Herald, March 16. 

The book is remarkably complete and is valuable as a reference, in addition to be- 
iiif? decidedly interesting-.— A'. F. World, March 18. ' 

The book gives all the attainable facts and figures concerning rif-h American girls 
who have married foreigners of more or less distinction.- A'. 1'. Ann, MarchlA. 

In fa('t “ 'Htled Americans” is a book that should be in the hands of each unmarried 
female in this country, and from it she should learn the glorious destiny that she may 
aciiieve.- Weekly. 

It furnishes a gi’eat deal of information, wdiich will be valuable for reference, con- 
C(n-ning American ladies who have mariied titled foi-eigncrs.— jBos tni Satarday Eieniny 
Gazette. 

Of course American “gontlemen” cannot “come in” when such a book is produced. 
Th('y will have to wait until some century when women rule Europe and carry all the 
l)urcliasal)le titles in their own viishi.— Brooklyn Daily Eayle. 

Embraced in this carefully compiled book, which is vastly entertaining in its way. 
are personal sketches of all tne bachelor jieers of Britain. We take it that the moi-ai of 
tne work for our American maidens is, “ Go thou and do likewise,” and that its mission 
i.-( to show them where and Boston Times. 

Here, is a volume for which young American w-omen will be truly grateful. It cpn- 
tains the names of twr) hundred and five American .girls who liave married foreigners. 
This is. of course very exciting r<'ading-, and will probably keep many girls awake at 
iifght,' piaiining tQ go and do likewise.— 7^7 A/rnrp/i Btille in, March 16. 

“Titled Americans” is a valuable and unitpie work of consideralie labor and ex- 
pense, and something every person in society will be interested in.- A'. I'. Eunhiy 
Tcleyra'in, March 13. 

Street k Smith have issued a rather uniipie book, but one that, in these days wht'n 
titled foreigners are .gobbling up and carrying off so many American belles and rich 
girls, will not be without use for reference.— Detroit Tribune. 

The only book of the kind ever published This is an interestin.g and unique work 
of considerable labor and exixmse., and somcdhing many. society people w ill be intert^sted 
in, as it gives a complete record to date of all American ladies who have married titkd 
foreigners, illustrated with their armorial bearings. Young ladies traveling- abroad 
should not fail to securtr a copy as it will be of great assistance in regulating their heart 
strings.- AVwtm Tele^iram. 

If anythin.g were needed to crystallize the craze of some American wmmen for titled 
husbands it has been provided in this veritable hand-book for niarriag<*able maidt-ns 
and ambitious widows. It will doubtless be hidden away in some secret corner of the 
boudoir or carried off in tlie traveling trunk across the ocean, to be consulted, 
cherished and studied ; wdiile the, names of more than two hundred American women 
who have successfully hunted down the titled .game will arouse the envy and hasten tlie 
palpitation of many a husband-hunting aspirant to weddtsd privileges.— A. F. Buturday 
lieview, March 8. 





FIGHTING FOR IT. 

l-iiatured scnunble for a calce of Ponrs* Soap, which only 
illustrates how necessary it liecoines to all people who have, once tried it 
and discovered its merits. Some who ask for it have to tiichtforit in a 
more serious way, and that too in dniir stores where all sorts of vile and 
inferior soaps are nr'red upon them as substitutes. But thev can always 
get the genuine Pears’ Soap, if they will be us persistent as are these urchins. 







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